The administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump has officially terminated temporary immigration benefits for thousands of Afghans living in the United States. The action affects Afghans who came to the country through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program after the war and peril broke out in their native country.
This shift would see thousands of Afghans potentially deported unless they are eligible under alternative visa categories. The decision has been met with fierce condemnation by immigrant rights organizations and legal advocates, who argue sending the group back to their homeland could put them in harm’s way.
TPS was initially provided to Afghans for the first time when the Taliban regained control in 2021. The protection allowed them to work and reside in the U.S. legally as long as Afghanistan remained unstable. Yet, the Trump administration contends that today’s circumstances in the country no longer justify such special treatment since the overwhelming majority of those protected are no longer directly threatened.
In 2017, the Trump administration also canceled TPS for citizens of countries like Sudan, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. That move sparked anger and led to court battles that lasted years. Many families who had lived in the U.S. for decades suddenly saw themselves at risk of being split apart. The Afghan action now recalls those past rollbacks.
Critics charge the cancellation as being thoughtless and contrary to the real conditions on the ground in Afghanistan. The country continues to suffer from violence, hunger, and poor healthcare, especially among women and minority ethnic groups. Many of the Afghans who received TPS status were former American allies, interpreters, or human rights activists—people who would be a vulnerable target for the Taliban to harass should they be deported.
The government insists it is only restoring order to the immigration process and removing what it calls “temporary” benefits that have lasted too long. Officials say attention must now shift to legal immigration channels and not long-term extensions of emergency status.
Advocacy groups argue this action will tear families apart, damage communities, and put vulnerable people back into harm’s way. They are calling on Congress to pass permanent protections or offer a path to citizenship for those affected.
Lastly, the discontinuation of TPS for Afghans is part of the broader initiative to roll back temporary immigration programs. While the Trump administration views it as the start of immigration reform, human rights groups consider it to drop the vulnerable. The issue now heads to the courts and Congress, where the future of the thousands is at stake.
