Global Refuge Condemns Termination of Protections for Afghans in the U.S.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 14, 2025

Contact: Timothy Young | timothy.young@globalrefuge.org

Baltimore, M.D. — The new administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan was officially posted in the Federal Register this week. Though news reports and comments from White House and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials had suggested this outcome for more than a month, the official announcement represents a crushing blow to Afghan allies who were promised U.S. protection.

Afghanistan was first designated for TPS by the Biden administration on May 20, 2022, based on the ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Afghanistan that prevented nationals of Afghanistan from returning in safety. The Biden administration extended and redesignated TPS for Afghanistan in September 2023, citing the worsening country conditions under the Taliban regime.

The new administration’s unprecedented and abrupt termination decision is expected to impact 11,700  Afghan nationals who currently hold TPS, including those who entered the U.S through Operation Allies Welcome, many of whom await processing of their immigration benefits applications with U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. According to the Federal Register Notice their current TPS protections and work authorization are set to end July 12, 2025.

“Without TPS, thousands of our Afghan allies and neighbors now face deportation back to unimaginable circumstances,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Global Refuge. “Country conditions in Afghanistan have continued to remain unsafe over the last three and a half years of Taliban rule.  Afghans still endure violence and repression at the hands of the Taliban, particularly reprisals against those who aided the United States. Women and girls still cannot work, travel on their own, or get an education. This decision contradicts U.S. intelligence and human rights assessments, and in doing so, will jeopardize thousands of lives.”

Global Refuge calls upon the administration to reverse course by issuing at least a six-month extension of TPS for Afghanistan, as required by law due to the lack of a timely decision on the designation. Global Refuge also urges members of Congress to defend protections and pathways for Afghans. Lawmakers should reintroduce and pass a version of the Afghan Adjustment Act so Afghans can seek a more stable status.

“We promised to protect our Afghan allies and those who were forced to flee,” concluded Vignarajah. “This is not just an egregious recission of that oath — it may be a death sentence.”

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