The United States government has extended the operation of Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar, which houses over a thousand Afghan asylum seekers, for another nine months. According to the Associated Press, the camp was scheduled to be closed on Wednesday, September 29.
An unnamed U.S. official told the news agency that under the new agreement, the facility will continue its operations. Currently, 1,039 Afghan asylum seekers, over 70% of whom are women and children, are living in limbo at Camp As Sayliyah. These individuals have been waiting for years to be relocated to the United States.
The extension comes amid growing concerns about the fate of these asylum seekers. In June of this year, reports emerged that the U.S. government was planning to relocate these individuals, most of whom are family members of former U.S. military allies, to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This plan faced strong opposition from migrant advocacy groups and some members of the U.S. Congress, who called for the decision to be reversed and for the asylum seekers to be immediately transferred to U.S. soil. Just yesterday, several members of Congress sent a letter to the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, urging an end to the uncertainty for these individuals and their transfer to the U.S. in fiscal year 2027.
Following the fall of the previous Afghan government and the imposition of restrictions on the entry of Afghan citizens to the U.S., the processing of immigration cases has slowed down considerably. According to reports, only five Afghan asylum seekers have managed to enter the U.S. through exceptional channels since last year.
Source: Associated Press
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