Thousands of Afghans in the U.S. at Risk of Deportation After Losing Legal Protection

April 12, 2025

WASHINGTON, April 11 — In a move raising deep concern among Afghan communities in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for citizens of Afghanistan, leaving thousands at risk of deportation in the coming weeks.

The decision, announced by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, concludes the protection previously granted to approximately 14,600 Afghan nationals who have lived in the U.S. under TPS since 2022. The protection had been extended due to the ongoing conflict, economic instability, and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

TPS is a legal provision that allows individuals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions to live and work temporarily in the U.S. without fear of removal. The Biden administration had last renewed Afghanistan’s TPS designation in September 2023, citing unsafe conditions for return. That designation was set to expire in May 2025.

Secretary Noem’s announcement, however, asserts that Afghanistan no longer meets the statutory requirements for continued designation under the TPS program. The department plans to issue a formal notice explaining the rationale behind the decision in the coming days.

The development has alarmed human rights groups, refugee advocates, and Afghan American communities, who argue that the situation in Afghanistan remains dire. The country continues to face widespread poverty, food insecurity, restrictions on women’s rights, and political repression under Taliban rule.

“Ending TPS for Afghans is not only premature but deeply troubling,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President of Global Refuge. “Conditions in Afghanistan have not improved—they remain dangerous and unstable. This decision risks returning vulnerable individuals to a place where their safety and freedoms cannot be guaranteed.”

Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, more than 80,000 Afghans have been evacuated, many through emergency parole programs. Some have since adjusted their status through asylum or Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), but a large number remain under TPS as their only legal protection from deportation.

Advocacy groups have also expressed concern over recent reports of Afghan parolees receiving notices to leave the country within days after their parole was revoked. DHS has acknowledged using its discretionary authority in some cases but has not clarified how many Afghans are affected.

The removal of TPS for Afghans comes as part of a broader rollback of humanitarian immigration protections by the Trump administration, which took office earlier this year. The administration has framed the move as part of efforts to “restore the rule of law,” though critics say it targets vulnerable populations and undermines U.S. commitments to its wartime allies.

Legal challenges to the decision are possible. Earlier this year, a federal judge blocked the administration’s attempt to end TPS for Venezuelans, citing a lack of evidence and potential political bias.

For now, Afghan families under TPS are left in legal limbo, uncertain about their future in a country many have come to call home.

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