"Operation Enduring Welcome" does not endure; Many Afghans living in the U.S. fear being tortured or killed if they get deported

[essentialsaltes]

Many Afghans living in the U.S. fear being tortured or killed if they get deported​

The end of Enduring Welcome and temporary protected status​

Soon after President Trump took office, the State Department shut down its Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) and the program that CARE oversees, Operation Enduring Welcome.

Roughly 200,000 Afghan immigrants and refugees came to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021.

While some of them have since received green cards or even U.S. citizenship, many have more tenuous legal status, such as humanitarian parole or temporary protected status (TPS).

Afghans who are here on TPS got a shock in April when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she would not be renewing the protection when it expires [on May 20th]

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS,) issued the following statement explaining 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," McLaughlin wrote.

[Taliban's got everything under control, folks! They will welcome you with open arms for your service to the United States and the government they deposed.]

While Noem argues that the security outlook in Afghanistan has improved, the U.S. State Department's website lists the travel advisory for Afghanistan at the highest risk, Level 4: "Do Not Travel, due to armed conflict, civil unrest, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping. Travel to all areas of Afghanistan is unsafe."