Is Secretary of State Antony Blinken really planning to abandon thousands of Afghans facing prison or death because they helped U.S. troops? And to block groups of dedicated U.S. vets who are trying to save them?

Right now, the answer to both questions appears to be YES.

In June, Blinken spoke to Congress about granting more than 18,000 special immigrant visas (SIVs) to Afghans who had worked with the U.S. military. Legislators and Pentagon officials urged him to evacuate them before the U.S. exit. He chose not to do this.

Most SIV applicants didn’t get out during the chaotic evacuation. Their IDs are on lists seized by the Taliban from abandoned U.S. bases.

Their only hope is provided by volunteer groups of ex-U.S. Special Forces, intelligence and aid workers, and humanitarians, with names like Task Force Argo, No One Left Behind, Task Force Pineapple and dozens more, who rely on private donations.

Some volunteer groups have raised enough funds to evacuate endangered Afghans on charter flights from a northern Afghan city to third countries, where SIV candidates can complete the vetting for a U.S. visa. But the State Department, which has to sign off on charter manifests, is blocking most flights.

Task Force Argo has flown five flights out, rescuing 2,126 Afghans including 61 U.S. citizens. But three more of the group’s charters — along with those of other veterans’ groups — have been on hold for weeks.

The reason: Blinken’s State Department has tightened requirements on which Afghans it will help. When it comes to SIV applicants, State will sign off only on those who already have fully completed SIV visas in their passports.

A department spokesperson tells me that’s because they want to ensure that Afghans on the charters are eligible for ultimate resettlement in the United States. But there’s no way that thousands of Afghan stuck in mid-process can complete an SIV application today, given that the U.S. Embassy is shuttered. “It’s impossible,” says Zach Nunn, an Air Force veteran and cofounder of Task Force Argo.

The State Department is effectively telling these Afghans to whom we made promises: “tough luck.”