Kaine Statement on Reports That Trump-Vance Administration May Send Afghan Allies to the Congo

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement after it was reported that the Trump-Vance Administration may send as many as 1,100 Afghans, including those who served with the U.S. military and more than 400 children, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):

"Our Afghan allies provided critical support to U.S. forces for over 20 years, but the Trump-Vance Administration has turned its back on them and their families, shutting down key resettlement programs. The idea that we're now in talks to send as many as 1,100 Afghans, whom we have already evacuated, to the DRC-a country with severe political instability, violence, and a massive refugee and humanitarian crisis-is insane. We told these Afghans that we would help ensure their safety after they helped us. We have an obligation to follow through on our promise because it's the right thing to do, and because going back on our word will only make it harder for us to build the kinds of partnerships we may need to advance our national security in the future."

Last year, amid rampant violence between the M23 rebel group and Congolese Army, Kaine and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) led a group of senators in pushing Secretary of State Marco Rubio for stronger U.S. diplomacy to address the worsening regional instability driven by the conflict between the DRC and Rwanda.

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