Afghan refugees await their fate as Africans jump the line: “betrayal”

Dozens of white South African refugees arrived in the United States on planes chartered by the Trump administration on Monday.

That same day, Ali – the Afghans who asked Newsweek not to use their new name around fear of being targeted if he was sent home – discovered that the legal status he and his family protected from deportation would be ended by the same government. The 39-year-old fled his home country with his wife and six children following the chaotic US withdrawal in 2021.

“When Afghanistan collapsed, everyone was trying to escape. Everyone was trying to save their lives,” Ali told Newsweek.

A long family journey

After taking what they could and destroying documents and phones that could cause problems with Taliban authorities they were afraid of, the family first fled to Iran, where they obtained a Brazilian visa. It was one of the few countries that at the time provided a clear path for Afghans.

A few months later in Brazil, Ali said anxiety erupted near where they were staying and it was no longer safe. So they headed north.

“We then heard that the US is a really good country, there are many opportunities with good people and there are a lot of immigrants, so we chose to come to us,” he said. “So, let's go to a better place at least. We've left everything Afghanistan, my country, so we could at least go to a better place.”

After a dangerous journey through the Darien Gap, hundreds of thousands of migrants crossed in Mexico and the United States in search of evacuation. The family eventually reached the southwest border and sought asylum in the United States.

Like many migrants who arrived at the US-Mexican border during the Biden administration, the family was released to the state in April 2023 while an asylum case was pending.

In May 2022, months after Kabul's collapse, former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mallorkas designated Afghans who qualify for temporary protected status (TPS).

Ali said it gave TPS a mental security for the whole family, allowing them to start building a community in New York, allowing them to go to school for children aged 4 to 20.

“I was an Afghan civil engineer,” he said. “I did some retraining programs in the engineering field and then studied some other courses… Now I'm in the time I'm applying to find a professional job.”

Thousands of Afghans fled to us

Ali and his family are part of a broader tapestry of refugees from Afghanistan, which turned into a 20-year war zone after the US-led invasion in late 2001.

Approximately 8,200 Afghans benefit from TPS, according to estimates from the National Immigration Forum. Many faced persecution from the Taliban after regaining control in the summer of 2021, as they worked with the US military during their two years of existence in Afghanistan as interpreters, fixed-tellers and other support capabilities.

Nasirullah “John” Safi worked as one of the US military interpreters for 10 years at the age of 15. He was able to go to the United States in 2016 under the Special Immigration Visa (SIV) program designed for those who supported the US military and now collaborated with Oregon refugees and TPS holders.

Safi told Newsweek that many Afghans had to seek asylum and TPS status as applications for SIV were still being processed when the sudden military withdrawal took place four years ago.

“Some people didn't apply for it, but they supported American soldiers and didn't want to leave the country, so this was their only option in 2021.

When Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem announced on Monday that Afghanistan's TPS would be fired, she said Homeland Security had considered the current situation in Afghanistan with the help of inter-agency partners, deeming the situation had improved enough to revoke temporary protections.

The United Nations and several humanitarian organisations report that the situation in Afghanistan is unstable and that fleeing Afghans are likely to be targeted upon return. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans remain scattered across other countries, where they seek asylum.

“The war has never ended for these incredible men and women who supported the Americans there,” Saffy told Newsweek. “It continues and if they are deported and you send them back to a country run by the many madmen running by the Taliban, then there is no doubt that those people will be killed.

“Not only are they killed, they're lured, tortured in a way no one can explain it, put in prison, tortured, and lost their lives at some point.”

Trump's administrator's decision: “Textbook betrayal”

The Trump administration argues that this is exactly what's happening for South Africans. The president suggests that Africans face genocide and racist persecution by their own government. South African leaders have similarly denied it, but some Africans report being denied work or targeting violence because of their race.

Newsweek asked the DHS why they made double refugee decisions about Afghanistan and South Africa, as the former remains under the State Department Level 4 travel advisory. That is, people should not travel to the country due to civil unrest, terrorism, and other factors that usually determine TP eligibility.

South Africa, by contrast, is at level 2. This means that travelers need to “be careful.” DHS told Newsweek that they had worked with the State Department to make the TPS decision, with Deputy Chief Tricia McLaughlin offering several alternatives to Afghans such as Ali and Safi.

“The TPS has ended as required by law, but Afghans who fear persecution can request asylum,” she said in a statement to Newsweek. “All aliens who have finished their TPS or parole, or otherwise, they will need to take advantage of the self-deporting process of CBP Homes to receive free one-way tickets and $1,000 in financial support to help them resettle elsewhere.”

The reason from the Trump administration, like many of the TPS holders he currently works, did not sit correctly with Safi, who had to flee his home country after being shot by the Taliban and losing his family while he helped the US military.

“They supported Trump and this administration, saying, “This is a veteran love and we'll see people supporting veterans and the military overseas.” And now, after this news that came out a few days ago, I not only call it a textbook betrayal, but there's no word “no word.”

I'm afraid of their future

The looming loss of Afghan legal status leaves an uncertain future for many families in the United States. For Ali, he feels he has to try and reassure the children who still have vivid memories of the dire circumstances they left behind.

“One of my older daughters, she said: “I don't want to wear a hijab like I'm a Muslim, because I go to school and ask me some documents if I'm probably going to stop me or something,” he said. “Then she forced me not to wear a hijab, so that shows that my children are also having real stress. They don't want to see the Taliban again. They don't want to see weapons again.

“I have very few four-year-olds, and when we arrived here he asked me: “Is there a Taliban here?” I said: “No, no.

Meanwhile, Safi said he was trying to ease the worries that Ali children share, and told Newsweek he wanted to believe the US would not proceed with plans to withdraw legal status. But over time he said he faces the possibility that the US may have turned its back on its allies.

“What message will this send to allies around the world? What do you expect in future conflicts? If you know what we've done to Afghans, or what we've been to become an ally, do you think someone will support us?” he said.

“What we did to them in 2021, we handed over the country to the Taliban and now we have our allies abandoned. I don't think it's a good message for people all over the world.”

For now, Ali is waiting for official communication from US immigration authorities about him and his family status. As Newsweek reported last week, lawsuits have been filed against the administration's move to revoke TPS status in Afghanistan and Cameroon, with an expected update in next week's case.