May 12 (UPI) — Homeland Security is ending the Temporary Protected Status program for Afghanistan with more than 9,000 nationals residing in the United States facing deportation, Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday.
TPS for them will expire May 20 and the program’s elimination is set for July 12, the federal agency said.
Noem determined that permitting Afghan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States “is contrary to the national interest of the United States,” according to a news release.
“This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” Noem said. “We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation. Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.”
Noem also claimed that the termination aligns with the Trump administration’s efforts to root out fraud in the immigration system.
“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,” Noem said.
The TPS program provides temporary legal status and work authorization to nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.
President Joe Biden initially designated Afghanistan for TPS for 1 1/2 years on May 20, 2022. It was extended another 18 months on Nov. 21, 2023.
The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan on Aug. 30, 2021, ending its 20-year military presence in the country. There was a peace agreement with the Taliban.
At least 60 days before a TPS designation expires, the agency’s secretary is required to review the conditions in a country designated for TPS to determine whether the conditions supporting the designation continue to be met. One month ago, DHS said Afganistan “no longer continues to meet the statutory requirements of its TPS designation.”
Politico reported that the Trump administration considered exempting Christians from the TPS renovation because they face persecution if sent back to the Taliban-controlled country.
Nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions. are given legal status and work authorization.
Refugee rights groups blasted the decision.
“It’s rooted in politics,” Afghan Evac posted on X. “Afghanistan remains under the control of the Taliban. There is no functioning asylum system. There are still assassinations, arbitrary arrests, and ongoing human rights abuses, especially against women and ethnic minorities.
“What the administration has done today is betray people who risked their lives for America, built lives here, and believed in our promises. This policy change won’t make us safer — it will tear families apart, destabilize them, and shred what’s left of our moral credibility.”
The group said it “will fight this with everything we’ve got: in the courts, in Congress, and in the public square. The United States cannot abandon its allies and call that immigration policy.”
Earlier, Trump terminated TPS protections for about 532,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela in the United States.
Massachusetts-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, appointed by President Barack Obama, ruled on April 15 against the Trump administration. It was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court last week.
Separately, District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco, appointed by President Barack Obama, on March 31 blocked the plan to end the status for 350,000 from Venezuela, and the Justice Department filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court. Their status was to end April 7.
Another 250,000 immigrants from the Central American country who arrived before 2023 will lose their status in September.
In 2018, the same judge temporarily blocked the first Trump administration’s decision to end TPS for immigrants from four countries: El Salvador, Haiti, Sudan and Nicaragua.