Biden administration conceals role at “lily pad” sites, where Afghans face months in limbo, inhumane conditions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2024

CONTACT:
connease warren, Abolitionist Law Center, 713-304-8990, connease@alcenter.org
Jen Nessel, Center for Constitutional Rights, jnessel@ccrjustice.org

January 14, 2025, New York – The U.S. government has enlisted at least 36 countries to hold tens of thousands of evacuated Afghans—many of whom are confined in what appear to be prison-like facilities where they have been experiencing human rights abuses and months in limbo. Contrary to its public assertions, the Biden administration retains significant influence over these sites and has allowed the inhumane conditions to persist and deteriorate.  

In 2021, the U.S. government evacuated over 124,000 Afghans, and, since then, it has closely guarded details of their effective confinement in so-called “lily pad” sites around the globe—third-country locations the U.S. government has coordinated, facilitated, or otherwise organized to process and hold Afghan evacuees. This new, fuller picture comes courtesy of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation brought by the organizations Abolitionist Law Center, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Muslim Advocates. Although still far from complete due to continued withholding and redactions, the records reveal widespread carceral confinement and restrictive conditions inflicted on a population that the U.S. government has purported to help, and their plight and suffering are likely to grow even more dire when incoming President Trump implements his anti-migrant agenda, say the groups. 

“The Biden administration’s obfuscation and distortion of facts regarding its intimate role in facilitating these prison-like holding facilities for evacuated Afghans – all while the administration continues to applaud itself for its deadly and botched withdrawal and evacuation efforts – are egregious,” said Sadaf Doost, attorney and Human Rights Program Manager at Abolitionist Law Center. “After nearly two years of litigation, and despite the government’s consistent attempts to evade transparency, responsibility, and urgent concerns raised by human rights and Afghan rights groups—what we have suspected has been confirmed through our review of government records: Afghan civilians have submitted appeal after appeal to U.S. government officials, pleading for movement on individual case processing after remaining in limbo for prolonged periods, while other records reveal cruel cases of family separation, denial of access to humanitarian and human rights groups, and inhumane conditions that have resulted in trauma and mental health crises.”

The records, analyzed in a briefing guide released today, confirm and detail the involvement of agencies and high-level federal officials in both the establishment and oversight of the holding  facilities. While the administration was publicly downplaying its influence at these sites, it was signing agreements with third countries promising to ensure humane treatment for Afghans—and violating those agreements. One document shows, for example, that U.S. officials allowed a facility in Qatar to hold 4,000 people even though the recommended limit for “safe and humane accommodations” was 2,600. 

The Biden administration was informed in detail by Human Rights Watch of the abysmal conditions at Emirates Humanitarian City (EHC) in Abu Dhabi—and did nothing in response. Records also reveal email communications between government officials discussing cases of egregious family separation at EHC, and correspondence from Afghans detained there in which they object to the length and conditions of their detention or otherwise prolonged holding, deteriorating mental health, inadequate facilities, inability to interact with society at large, and fear of repatriation. 

The Biden administration’s initial agreements with third-party countries allow for short-term holding of Afghans, but subsequent amendments extend the duration of what has become indefinite, effective detention and prolonged holding of the population. The administration has ignored requests for individualized handling of cases from many of the thousands of Afghans stranded for months and even years in these U.S.-facilitated sites. 

Read the briefing guide here.

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Abolitionist Law Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public interest law firm and community organizing project fighting to protect human rights and dismantle state and corporate violence through litigation, advocacy, research and public education on the local, state, national, and international levels. For more information, visit abolitionistlawcenter.org. Follow Abolitionist Law Center on social media: Abolitionist Law Center on Facebook, @abolitionistlc on Instagram, and @AbolitionistLC on X. 

Muslim Advocates is a national social-justice, legal-advocacy, and educational organization that works with and for Muslim and other historically marginalized communities to build community power, fight systemic oppression, and demand shared well-being. Follow Muslim Advocates on social media: Muslim Advocates on Facebook, @muslimadvocates on Instagram, and @MuslimAdvocates on X.  

The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach. Learn more at ccrjustice.org. Follow the Center for Constitutional Rights on social media: Center for Constitutional Rights on Facebook, @theCCR on X, and ccrjustice on Instagram.