Fours years since the fall of Kabul, thousands of US-based Afghans are at serious risk. Many Afghans were brought to the US after it’s 20 year military occupation was defeated by the Taliban.

Inkstick Media’s Medina Danish wrote:

We are reminded of the failures of a 20-year American occupation that finally handed power to the very people it sought to dislodge. We are also reminded of the repeat betrayals by the US government for which many Afghans risked their lives.

This time, Danish said “the betrayal takes the form of bigoted immigration policy”.

Betrayal

Danish, an Afghan-American, spent months interviewing Afghans about the fear and resentment they feel under US president Donald Trump. He wrote:

Those resettled included translators, government workers, and other vulnerable groups like activists and human rights defenders. After the arduous process of finally making it to the US, many dreamed of rebuilding their lives in the country that had put them in so much danger in their homes.

Instead of finding peace and safety, they’ve now become “targets of a broken and now weaponised immigration system”. He continued:

Today, tens of thousands of Afghans are in the US without permanent legal protections, leaving them vulnerable to the whims of a government that has never respected their sacrifice.

Their cases hinge on a legal provision called Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Trump has now terminated this provision. This leaves around 12,000 Afghans with an uncertain fate.

Do not travel

At the centre of the Trump administration’s position is a major contradiction. Officials have told Afghans to go back to their country, but the US government itself says Afghanistan is too dangerous to visit.

Danish explained:

The Trump administration has told Afghans to go back to Afghanistan, claiming that it’s safe for them to return to a country under Taliban rule, where their association with the United States makes them and their families targets.

That is such an obvious lie that not even the administration itself believes it — the State Department has issued a “Do Not Travel” advisory for Americans thinking of even traveling to Afghanistan.

Intense despair and loneliness

One Afghan named Mustafa served alongside the US military, but ended up in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention in the US:

There was a feeling of intense despair and loneliness.

I felt driven from a distant land of pain and suffering.

Mustafa was released, but many others remain in detention. Lawyers in the US are fighting to protect the Afghans from the worst impulses of the Trump administration:

Congress has repeatedly introduced a bipartisan Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act, to ensure Afghan evacuees receive permanent protections for themselves and their families.

However, Danish added, “despite multiple attempts, lawmakers have failed to pass this legislation, leaving many Afghans in jeopardy”.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/ABC News Australia

By Joe Glenton

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