US to Extend Qatar Camp Housing Over 1,000 Stranded Afghans by Nine Months

The Trump administration is preparing a last-minute extension for a camp in Qatar that shelters more than 1,000 Afghans who worked alongside American forces or are relatives of U.S. service members, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the plan.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to sign a diplomatic note to Qatar that would keep Camp As Sayliyah open for another nine months. The facility had been scheduled to shut down on Wednesday, at the close of the U.S. budget year.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a public announcement, said the decision follows months of discussions with third-party countries about taking in the 1,039 residents. Rubio told Congress in June that those talks were still underway, after reports that war-torn Congo was among the possible resettlement destinations.

The State Department declined to comment directly on the extension but said it "continues to work toward a positive resolution that provides safety for these remaining people to start a new life outside of Afghanistan while upholding the safety and security of the American people." It also repeated its position that the camp is a legacy of the Biden administration's effort "to move as many Afghans to America as possible without properly vetting them" — a claim former officials and refugee advocates have rejected.

According to statistics from #AfghanEvac, more than 70% of the camp's residents are women and children. The group includes people who fought or worked with the U.S. military between 2001 and 2021 and who have been stranded in Qatar for over a year since the chaotic American withdrawal and the Taliban's return to power.

"This is a victory for those people, and they're going to have some semblance of knowing that they're safe there because they've been worried that at any moment somebody's going to come and rip them out of there," said Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran who heads #AfghanEvac. He added that a permanent solution to the yearslong crisis is still needed.

Even with the reprieve, which rules out forcible removal to Afghanistan for now, residents have little prospect of entering the United States. Upon taking office for a second term, Trump paused his predecessor's Afghan resettlement program as part of a series of immigration crackdowns, including a sweeping overhaul of refugee admissions. Only five Afghans have been admitted to the U.S. since October 2025, according to #AfghanEvac.

The refugee changes have left thousands of people who fled war and persecution — many after years of vetting — stranded at locations around the world, including the base in Qatar. Advocates have warned that without an alternative, the only option for the camp's residents would be a return to Afghanistan, where they face likely reprisal from the Taliban.

Over the coming nine months, the State Department said it would "continue to work to identify options for voluntary resettlement of all Camp As-Sayliyah residents," without providing further details.