Donald Trump made it easier to deport Afghans on the same day that he welcomed white South African “refugees” arriving in the country.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced Monday that the government is ending the temporary protected status for Afghanistan, putting the legal residency of 9,000 Afghans in the U.S. in jeopardy. Noem claimed in a statement that conditions in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan have improved enough for TPS for Afghans to expire on May 20, with the program being terminated on July 12.
“Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country,” Noem’s statement reads. “Additionally, the termination furthers the national interest as DHS records indicate that there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security.”
President Biden extended TPS to Afghans after the Taliban took over Afghanistan following the U.S. military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees, many of whom worked with the U.S. military, subsequently arrived stateside. Last month, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would not renew temporary protections for Afghans in the U.S.
The Trump administration has considered one exception to its plan to deport Afghan refugees: Christians, who potentially face persecution if they return to the country. But that’s of little comfort to Afghans of various faiths who face an uncertain and dangerous future if they are deported to the hardline authoritarian country, especially if they worked with U.S. forces.
“What the administration has done today is betray people who risked their lives for America, built lives here, and believed in our promises,” nonprofit group #AfghanEvac, which helps resettle Afghan families in the U.S., posted on X on Monday.
The move comes on the same day that the Trump administration is welcoming white Afrikaner “refugees” from South Africa while continuing to ban most other refugees. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Monday that the Afrikaners were admitted because they could be “assimilated easily” into the U.S., a racist confirmation that the administration sees white South Africans as preferable to Black and brown immigrants.
Afghan refugees reading the news on Monday will likely feel betrayed by the U.S., especially those who put their lives on the line to assist the U.S. military during its two-decade presence in Afghanistan. It seems that the only threat they pose to “national security and public safety” is being the wrong race or following the wrong religion for the Trump administration.
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