White House welcomes Afrikaners to the U.S., but drops protection for Afghan allies

Families evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, hold to committee a autobus aft they arrived astatine Washington Dulles International Airport, successful Chantilly, Va., connected Aug. 27, 2021. Jose Luis Magana/AP hide caption

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Jose Luis Magana/AP

As galore arsenic 9,000 Afghan refugees are astatine hazard of deportation, arsenic the Trump medication has ended the impermanent protected presumption (TPS) that allowed them to enactment successful the U.S. legally. The White House says their state is nary longer unsafe for them, a contention that confounds Afghanistan watchers.

"It's a decease punishment for them if they return," said Zia Ghafoori, who worked arsenic an interpreter successful combat with U.S. Army Special Forces from 2002 to 2014.

Ghafoori was received by President Trump astatine the White House successful 2019 and became a U.S. national successful 2020.

"He's a large protagonist of our veterans and that's what we emotion astir the president," Ghafoori said. "Maybe he's not alert however the argumentation is going to impact our Afghan allies. I don't cognize what's happening down the scenes."

"I anticipation we tin support those promises that we made," helium added. "But unfortunately, close present I don't cognize however to explicate that to the families that are present and surviving successful accent and slump without immoderate migration status."

Ghafoori says the determination besides affects thousands of Afghans successful limbo, including 13 members of his ain household that had been acceptable to alert to the U.S. from Pakistan erstwhile the Trump administration canceled flights for Afghans earlier this year.

Ending TPS for Afghans is portion of the administration's stated extremity of realigning the United States exile admissions program.

"This medication is returning TPS to its archetypal impermanent intent," said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem successful a connection connected Monday.

"We've reviewed the conditions successful Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they bash not conscionable the requirements for a TPS designation. Afghanistan has had an improved information situation, and its stabilizing system nary longer forestall them from returning to their location country," she said.

Not forgotten

A chorus of dissenting voices has condemned the alteration arsenic a betrayal to those who helped the U.S. astatine warfare oregon were stranded by the abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan successful 2001.

"To our Afghan allies, you are not alone, you are not forgotten," said Jack McCain, a seasoned of the Afghan warfare and lad of the precocious Sen. John McCain.

"Allies present successful the United States who fought alongside radical similar maine … who risked their lives and the lives of their families to execute our overseas argumentation are astatine the precise existent credible hazard of deportation and successful galore many cases, death," said McCain successful a connection connected societal media.

Bill Frelick with Human Rights Watch called the determination to revoke the presumption for Afghans "a betrayal of U.S. commitments."

"The lone justification for revoking impermanent extortion would beryllium if imperishable extortion was being offered since Taliban regularisation intelligibly makes returns unsafe," helium said.

As for Noem's assertion that the state is present safe, it near advocates wondering wherever the DHS is getting its information.

"I wonderment if Secretary Noem is operating connected the presumption that the Taliban has fixed promises that they're not going to enactment radical that worked with the U.S. successful harm's way?" said Morwari Zafar, with the Georgetown University Center for Security Studies.

"Even if that were true, adjacent if we could spot their word, it's not conscionable the Taliban. You've got an situation wherever determination are hostilities towards the colonisation that would beryllium coming backmost conscionable based connected the information that they worked with the U.S. subject – and besides that they were the ones that got out," she said.

Veterans of the post-9/11 wars are among the astir passionate advocates for protecting Afghans status. Many had taken encouragement that 2 of Trump's furniture picks were staunch supporters of TPS for Afghans. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was one; he's precocious gone quiescent connected the issue. Former National Security Adviser and Afghanistan warfare vet Mike Waltz was the other, and helium appears to person been marginalized.

Some Republicans who condemned the Biden administration's ending of the Afghan warfare are present criticizing Trump.

"The Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan was a catastrophe. Deporting Afghans who bravely helped america would beryllium Trump's catastrophe," said Bradley Bowman with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Bowman is an Afghanistan vet who besides taught astatine West Point. He called deporting Afghan allies immoral but besides short-sighted from an American nationalist information standpoint.

"Around the world, countries are looking astatine the actions of the United States to find whether Washington is simply a bully spouse that honors its commitments and stands by its friends," helium said. "If we deport specified individuals, the consequences for those Afghans and their families whitethorn beryllium terrible and the determination volition rightly beryllium viewed arsenic a betrayal."

The migration advocacy radical CASA announced it has sued the Trump administration implicit its termination of TPS for Afghans and besides Cameroonians. That enactment came astatine the aforesaid clip the Trump medication made bully connected a committedness to judge achromatic South Africans into the U.S., citing what Trump baselessly claimed was a radical genocide against them.

Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, a Marine combat veteran, said the opposition was stark.

"As each Iraq oregon Afghanistan seasoned knows, this is textbook betrayal. To accidental that the conditions successful Afghanistan person improved arsenic our allies are being hunted down is intelligibly absurd," helium said successful a connection to NPR. "I cognize Kristi Noem doesn't recognize the thought of risking your beingness for our country, but possibly she understands outright racism successful accepting Afrikaner 'refugees' successful their place," helium said successful a connection to NPR.