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Another Chapter in America’s Afghanistan Shame [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-05-15

On April 11, 2025, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghans in the U.S.would end, with protections expiring on May 20, 2025, and the termination becoming final on July 12, 2025. The move is expected to affect between 9,000 and 14,600 Afghans currently protected under TPS.

Noem formalized the decision in an official announcement on May 12, 2025, justifying it by claiming that, “Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longe prevents them from returning to their home country.” (Source: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/05/12/dhs-terminating-temporary-protected-status-afghanistan)

But these rationales are both questionable and legally irrelevant. Under INA § 244, TPS can only be terminated if the Secretary determines that conditions no longer prevent nationals from safely returning, not simply that economic or security conditions have “improved” on paper.

The reality on the ground in Afghanistan tells a very different story. The Taliban remains in control, and Afghans who worked with the U.S. military and government over two decades are at continued risk of imprisonment, torture, or execution. Returning them under these conditions is morally indefensible and strategically short-sighted.

This decision mirrors the catastrophic missteps of the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Biden—a rushed, poorly coordinated exit that left thousands of vulnerable alliesbehind. As the Taliban advanced across the country, many Afghan NationalDefense and Security Forces units collapsed or surrendered without resistance. Kabul fell far sooner than U.S. intelligence predicted. Biden was roundly and rightfully criticized for the failure. It affected his popularity, and he never recovered.

By April 2023, the State Department reported that over 840,000 Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants and their families still remained in Afghanistan. (Source: https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/15/afghanistan-allies-american-visas-siv-petitions/)

Only about 90,000 Afghans were evacuated during the U.S. withdrawal, a staggering shortfall that violated the military ethos of “leave no man behind.”

Noem was a fierce critic of Biden’sexit. On August 15, 2021, she tweeted, “The following are not mutuallyexclusive re: Afghanistan. 1) 20 years is long enough. 2) The manner in which this withdrawal played out is tragic. It would have NEVER happened under President Trump. This is what happens when you have a weak and confused Commander-in-Chief.”

Yet now, by ending TPS, Noem is directly contributing to another tragedy—this one fully within her control. It is an ill-considered move under Trump, “a weak and confused Commander-in-Chief.”

On May 12, 2025, Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, condemned the move by tweeting on X: “Another spectacular moral and international disgrace brought to you by Kristi Noem.”

Even Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, former Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned, “The Taliban have made their thirst for retribution against those who helped the United States clear. Until they demonstrate clear behavioral changes, I urge the administration to continue prioritizing the safety of the Afghan men and women who risked their lives to help our troops.” (Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/noems-claim-afghan-refugees-can-safely-return-taliban-ruled-homeland-j-rcna206665)

Her past statements further compromise Noem’s position. On August 17, 2021, she expressed skepticism about Afghan refugees writing, “I don’t have the confidence [in the Biden Administration] today because they haven’t said they are going to vet them. They haven’t laid out the process, and been transparent about how they would identify the refugees, and determine the difference between them... and known terrorists that are on our watchlist.” (Source: https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/2021/08/18/noem-skeptical-afghan-refugee-resettlement-efforts/)

However, Afghans under TPS were vetted,including through biometrics, fingerprinting, and extensive background checks against national security databases. Rather than removing their protection, DHS should be helping them transition to Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) or lawful permanent residency.

The fact alone of their residence in the U.S. for several years places them at risk of persecution, imprisonment, torture,and even death if they are returned to Afghanistan. Noem’s reversal reveals more than political inconsistency—it shows a failure of moral leadership.

She has also ignored or forgotten Trump’s own deeply flawed engagement with the Taliban, including his secret plan to host Taliban leaders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at Camp David on September 8, 2019, just days before the anniversary of 9/11. Trump ultimately canceled the meeting after a Taliban attack killed a U.S. service member, but the intent drew bipartisan condemnation.

Then came the disastrous Doha Agreement, signed by the Trump administration on February 29, 2020, which essentially gave the Taliban a timeline for U.S. withdrawal in exchange for vague promises. The Afghan government was excluded, no ceasefire was secured, and Trump did not negotiate a residual U.S. counterterrorism force, despite clear military recommendations.

In retrospect, Biden’s disastrous exit was largely set in motion by Trump’s agreement. Yet Trump didn’t begin a serious evacuation of U.S.-affiliated Afghans during his final months in office—he left that burden to his successor. He probably didn’t want all of those brown people in America.

There are 25,000 to 30,000 Afghans in the U.S. on Special Immigrant Visas. Further, more than 128,000 Afghan SIV applicants remain stuck in processing. Many are trapped in third countries like Pakistan, Qatar, Albania, or the Philippines. Given Trump’s and Noem’s openly hostile stance toward immigration, it’s doubtful that many of them will ever reach safety in the U.S. during Trump’s second term.

The U.S. war in Afghanistan may be over, but our obligations are not. From Trump’s flawed Doha deal to Biden’s chaotic withdrawal, and now Noem’s callous revocation of TPS, both political parties have failed the Afghans who risked their lives to stand with American forces.

TPS for Afghans should be extended, not ended. The danger they face under Taliban rule is real and well-documented. Deporting them now would not only be a betrayal—it would be a death sentence. And why would other people support the U.S. military in a similar situation in the future?

The world is watching what kind of country we choose to be. Will we honor our promises—or once again turn our backs?

Day 116: days left to January 20, 2029: 1,346 days

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/15/2322459/-Another-Chapter-in-America-s-Afghanistan-Shame?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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