The Trump administration is ending the protected status for thousands of Afghans who entered the U.S. after its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 under the Biden administration.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security doesn’t plan to renew Afghans’ Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which lasts six to 18 months and applies to people from countries that are war-torn, have a natural disaster or some other event that makes returning dangerous.
Immigrants will have TPS protection and also have access to work permits.
The U.S. military evacuated more than 82,000 Afghans from the country when the U.S. withdrew in 2021, and the Taliban took over.
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An Afghan evacuee in her Massachusetts apartment in 2022. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
Thousands of Cameroonians are also expected to lose their status.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Reuters that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has determined that the situation in Afghanistan and Cameroon no longer meets the standard for the Afghans and Cameroonians to have TPS protections renewed.
“The Secretary determined that Afghanistan no longer continues to meet the statutory requirements for its TPS designation and so she terminated TPS for Afghanistan,” McLaughlin said in a statement, according to NPR.
Shawn VanDriver, who served in the military and is president of #AfghanEvac, disagreed with the administration’s assessment on Afghanistan.
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Afghans board a plane in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 9, 2021, following a large-scale departure of people after U.S. and foreign forces withdrew from the country. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
“The conditions on the ground haven’t improved — they’ve worsened,” he told NPR. “Afghans who were invited here, who built lives here, are now being told they don’t matter. It’s cruel, it’s chaotic, and it undermines everything America claimed to stand for when we promised not to leave our allies behind.”
More than 14,000 Afghans and 7,000 Cameroonians are expected to lose their TPS protections.
The Biden administration renewed TPS protections for Afghans in 2023.
Afghan TPS protections end in May and Cameroonian protections in June. At that time, foreign nationals will be eligible for deportation.
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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has determined that the situation in Afghanistan and Cameroon no longer meets the standard for Afghans and Cameroonians to have TPS protections renewed. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Fox News Digital has reached out to DPS and the White House for comment.
Last month, a judge delayed a Trump administration effort to end TPS protections for Venezuelans.
Both Afghanistan and Venezuela are listed by the U.S. State Department as “Level 4: Do Not Travel” because of the risk of terrorism, unlawful detention, civil unrest and kidnapping.
Cameroon is listed as “Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution” due to the risk of terrorism, kidnapping and armed violence.
Reuters contributed to this report.
