Blast Off
With Trump's cessation of protections, numerous Afghans residing in the U.S. express anxiety over potential deportation and execution by the Taliban.
Donald Trump's administration is kicking out Afghan immigrants and refugees with uncertain legal status, threatening their lives back in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Over 200,000 refugees have come to the United States since the Taliban took over Kabul, including around 10,000 in Houston. Many of these immigrants have parole or Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a temporary reprieve for individuals facing danger in their home countries.
Fears of being deported have been brewing since February, as reports surfaced of the State Department's plans to shutter the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) and end its overseeing program, Operation Enduring Welcome.
Rep. Michael McCaul, who represents a district from Houston to Austin and has been a former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, signed a joint letter urging Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to reconsider their decision. In the letter, McCaul and his colleagues emphasize the risks Afghan allies face, citing thousands of documented killings and disappearances of former Afghan military personnel, interpreters, and U.S. government partners.
One such ally is Sayedyaqoob Qattali, a security commander for the Afghan Interior Ministry who aided U.S. forces in Herat Province. Unable to evacuate when Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, Qattali embarked on a year-long journey through multiple countries to secure a humanitarian visa for Brazil, eventually making his way to Mexico. With the help of Combined Arms, a veterans' organization in Houston, Qattali and his family arrived in the city. Unfortunately, their time in America was cut short when Trump ended the CBP One program for new applicants.
Qattali's attorney reassured him of his asylum application protection, but he remains anxious about his future. He receives a threatening letter warning that if he returns to Afghanistan, he and his family will be targeted for death.
The current grant of TPS for Afghans was set to expire on May 20, 2025, but Secretary of Homeland Security Noem announced in April that it would not be extended. This means close to 1,000 Afghans living in the Houston area, and thousands more across the U.S., will be at risk of deportation.
"Everyone I speak to is concerned that if this protection is revoked, a lot of people's lives are going to be in danger," said Khalil Yarzada, a former Afghan translator who became a U.S. citizen in February. "A lot of people are going to see a target on their back."
Ali Zakaria, an immigration attorney, believes part of Trump's motivation for ending programs like TPS is to enact mass deportations in line with his campaign promises.
"When you actually look at the immigrant population and you look at how many of those are actually deportable, the number is not that high," Zakaria said. "What the Trump administration's policy is at this moment is to create this mass group that can be deported, and one way is to cancel the existing legal protocols or legal protections that are in place, and thus making those people unlawfully here, and then deport them."
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), explained the decision to end TPS for Afghans: "Secretary Noem made the decision to terminate TPS for individuals from Afghanistan because the country's improved security situation and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country."
Yet, the State Department's website still lists a Level 4 travel advisory for Afghanistan, advising not to travel due to the armed conflict, civil unrest, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping. Two of Trump's harshest critics, Reps. McCaul and John Cornyn, have been silent on the matter.
Even those with a chance at becoming U.S. citizens worry about Trump's anti-immigrant policies. Muhammad Amiri is a former pilot trainee with the Afghan Air Force who managed to get a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) to the U.S. After receiving his green card four months ago, he still fears the Taliban may target him if he leaves the U.S. Conversely, Zakaria advises immigrants to avoid expressing negative opinions about the current administration on social media, as they could face revocation of their status.
The Afghan Adjustment Act, a bill aimed at speeding up the path to permanent legal status for Afghans who aided U.S. forces, has failed in both the last two Congresses. With no immediate plans to restart the bill, thousands of Afghan allies could remain stuck in limbo, uncertain about their futures in the United States.
Infodump
- Temporary Protected Status (TPS): a temporary reprieve granted to individuals from countries where their lives might be in danger due to wars, environmental disasters, or similar situations.
- CBP One: a video lottery system for processing Central American border-crossers, shut down in 2019 three days after being implemented.
- Special Immigrant Visa (SIV): a status for individuals who worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq or Afghanistan.
- The government's decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghans, set to expire in May 2025, could put close to 1,000 Afghans living in Houston and thousands more across the US at risk of deportation.
- Rep. Michael McCaul, a former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, signed a joint letter urging the administration to reconsider their decision, emphasizing the risks Afghan allies face in Afghanistan.
- An attorney reassured Sayedyaqoob Qattali, a former Afghan security commander aiding U.S. forces, of his asylum application protection, but he remains anxious about his future due to threatening letters and potential targeting if he returns to Afghanistan.
- Ali Zakaria, an immigration attorney, believes part of the motivation for ending programs like TPS is to enact mass deportations in line with Trump's campaign promises, creating a mass group that can be deported by canceling existing legal protocols or legal protections.
- Amid war-and-conflicts and civil unrest, the State Department's website still lists a Level 4 travel advisory for Afghanistan, advising not to travel due to armed conflict, terrorism, and kidnapping.
- Fears of being deported have been brewing since February, as reports surfaced of the State Department's plans to shutter the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) and end Operation Enduring Welcome.
- Despite concerns about Trump's anti-immigrant policies, even those with a chance at becoming U.S. citizens worry about potential targeting by the Taliban if they leave the U.S., such as Muhammad Amiri, a former pilot trainee with the Afghan Air Force who managed to get a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) to the U.S.
