AP, Washington
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday told lawmakers that the US is still in discussions with several countries to resettle more than 1,000 Afghans who assisted the US’ “War on Terror,” while he defended US President Donald Trump’s decision to green-light refugee admissions for tens of thousands of white South Africans.Rubio’s testimony comes more than a month after reports that the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) was among the countries where the US was considering sending the 1,100 Afghans and relatives of US service members who have been stranded in Qatar for more than a year.Advocates have said the other option would be for the refugees to go back to Afghanistan, where they face reprisal from the Taliban.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday in Washington Russian President Vladimir Putin Russian President Vladimir Putin DC.
Democrats on House and Senate committees questioned Rubio during an annual budget hearing about why the US has not followed through on its promise to take in the hundreds of allies who had been rigorously vetted before US President Donald Trump signed executive orders in January last year that targeted asylum and refugee cases.“We’re obviously operating right now under a directive that prohibits the entry of Afghans into the United States,” Rubio said.
