Washington, D.C. Thousands of Afghan refugees in the United States are in a state of fear and apprehension. United States as the countdown begins to the government’s decision to cancel the Temporary Protected Status Program, which allows them to live and work in America due to the impossibility of returning to their country.
According to a decision issued by the Department of Homeland Security, the TPS program will cease as of July 14, meaning that more than 14,000 Afghans have lost this protection as of May 20, which the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden was passed in response to the deteriorating security situation following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after negotiations with Taliban in 2021.
The ministry justified its decision with a new assessment of the overall situation in Afghanistan, which concluded that “the armed conflict between the Taliban andIslamic Statea slight decrease in humanitarian needs, a 2.7% increase in GDP, and a significant growth in the tourism sector.” These indicators do not justify the continued granting of TPS to Afghans residing in America.
To mitigate the impact of the decision, the ministry explained that any Afghans who fear persecution in their country can apply for formal asylum, and those who will lose TPS can apply for financial assistance for resettlement in a third country.
Tightening immigration policies
The decision is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to Donald Trump to tighten immigration policies, including eliminating other humanitarian programs enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people from Venezuela and Ukraine andCuba andHaiti andNicaraguadue to deteriorating conditions in their countries.
In response to the decision, CASA, Inc, a non-profit organization representing immigrant communities, filed a lawsuit against US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, challenging the legality of the decision and warning of the potential repercussions for Afghans, especially those who were directly connected to US operations in Afghanistan or active in civil society.
Although the Afghan Foreign Ministry welcomed the US government’s assessment as “a positive step that reflects an awareness of the realities on the ground,” international refugee and human rights organizations assert that Afghanistan continues to suffer from instability and a severe humanitarian crisis.
The Temporary Protected Status program was established in United States in 1990, allowing citizens of countries experiencing armed conflicts, environmental disasters, or exceptional circumstances to live and work in the United States and, in some cases, to travel abroad.
Afghans benefiting from this program are among the most vulnerable among the approximately 100,000 Afghans who arrived in the United States, mostly through Operation Allied Welcome that was implemented after the Taliban took power in Kabul.
Complex legal situations
Some have obtained a special immigrant visa that enabled them to obtain permanent residency (green card), others have official refugee status, and some benefit from conditional humanitarian protection granted on an individual basis.
Thousands of Afghans were in the process of completing their asylum or humanitarian protection procedures in preparation for moving to the US, but President Trump suspended all such procedures in one of his first executive orders issued days after taking office on January 21.
Al Jazeera Net has learned from sources in civil society organizations that provide legal and social support to the Afghan community that some TPS beneficiaries have begun receiving official notices asking them to leave the US before mid-July.
Complex situation
After the cancellation takes effect, those covered by the program will find themselves in a complicated legal situation, losing work permits and residency benefits, and effectively considered irregular migrants, unless they can adjust their legal status through other mechanisms.
Shafiq (a pseudonym), an Afghan humanitarian activist based in Washington, D.C., said that those who will lose protection are in a state of panic, noting that one option is to quickly apply for asylum or an alternative legal procedure that allows them to remain in America until further notice.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, he explained that filing an asylum application gives the right to stay until a judicial decision is issued on the application, a procedure that may take a long time given the recent increase in the number of immigration cases.
Shafiq stressed that his organization is making efforts to provide legal support to those threatened with deportation by coordinating with law firms and legal consultants specialized in immigration cases.
In parallel to individual actions, civil organizations are calling for a coordinated political action to pressure the US government to fulfill its promises to those who cooperated with it in Afghanistan and to settle their legal status.
There are also calls for the passage of the “Afghan Adjustment Act,” a bipartisan bill introduced in 2023 by Democratic and Republican lawmakers that aims to legalize the status of tens of thousands of Afghans evacuated after the fall of Kabul on August 15, 2021.
Fears of return
Shafiq said that the return of refugees to Afghanistan raises real concerns, noting that the security situation is still fragile, the economy is suffering, and poverty rates are high, making return “a risky option,” he said.
He added that the fate of returnees will vary depending on their ethnic and political backgrounds, noting that minority Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks are more likely to be at risk than Pashtuns, who represent the Taliban’s main social base.
For his part, civil activist Abdul (a pseudonym), who works for an organization that works to integrate Afghans into American society, said that the challenges that returnees to Afghanistan will face are great, especially after getting used to the lifestyle in America and the rights and services they enjoy.
Abdul, who left Kabul with his family on the last official flight before the fall of the capital, explained that security concerns top the list of challenges, especially for those who left the country for political reasons.
He noted that some evacuees have integrated into American society and their children have been educated in schools there, making the return fraught with cultural and educational difficulties, especially given the restrictions on girls’ education in Afghanistan.
The Afghan community is concentrated in states such as California (southwest), Virginia and Maryland and New York (East Coast), along with the state of Texas in the south. Many work in commercial and service industries, including restaurants, transportation apps and other services.
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2025-06-01 12:25:00
