BATON ROUGE - On Thursday, a family of four from Afghanistan landed at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport after years of struggle.

EBR District Attorney Hillar Moore is also a member of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA), a national nonprofit working to bring prosecutors and judges from Afghanistan to safety.

“We fought the war in the courts, we trained them,” Moore said. "[We promised] no man would be left behind."

Many of these attorneys and judges prosecuted members of the Taliban in the justice system. Moore said when the United States pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, nearly a thousand people serving the justice system were left behind.

The parents of the family were both personally wanted by the Taliban. The mother was a prosecutor for cases of violence against women. The father was a journalist and an educator teaching about democracy and protecting human rights.

In 2024, the citizens of Baton Rouge raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars to help efforts to rescue prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys from Afghanistan.

The work of APA is now uncertain. With President Trump's executive order suspending the United States Refugee Admissions Program, or USRAP, there is no word yet on what the future looks like for the many who supported the U.S. and are left in Afghanistan. Moore said while he understands why USRAP may have been suspended, it impacts families seeking refuge.

“You actually affect good people like this group,” Moore said.

The APA provided a list of donations to help the family get adjusted. See below:

- Monetary donations to support first weeks in the country; donations can be made via GoFundMe
- Men and Women’s clothing, professional attire for interviews and new employment
- Semi-permanent housing such as an apartment or family home
- Boy’s clothing age 4-5
- Girl’s clothing age 2-3
- Kitchen tools and cookware
- New car seats
- Vehicles for transportation
- Household furniture
- Linens and Bath towels
- Cleaning supplies
- Diapers, children’s training cups, plates, and utensils
- Toddler beds and blankets
- Personal Feminine products