By doing so, Trump can position himself not only as a corrector of Biden’s failure but as a defender of American honor and global credibility.
I n May, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for refugees from Afghanistan, effective July 14. TPS is a temporary legal immigration status that provides protection from deportation and work authorization for eligible individuals from designated countries experiencing crises. Secretary Noem’s justification was “improvements in the security and economic situation.” She stated that returning to Afghanistan “does not pose a threat to their personal safety due to ongoing armed conflict or extraordinary and temporary conditions.”
TPS was always intended to be temporary, as the name suggests. However, this decision will affect over 11,000 individuals from Afghanistan who currently live and work in the United States. Country conditions have not sufficiently improved for the most vulnerable: women, girls, and persecuted religious minorities.
Offering protections for Afghans gives President Donald Trump a powerful opportunity to show principled leadership where Biden faltered as president. The Biden administration’s chaotic and disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 left tens of thousands of Afghan allies, women, and persecuted individuals at the mercy of the Taliban. Many Americans — Republican and Democrat alike — saw this as a betrayal of our promise to them. By stepping up to protect them now, Trump can position himself not only as a corrector of Biden’s failure but also as a defender of American honor and global credibility.
The situation in Afghanistan is dire. Thirty million people, half the population, rely on humanitarian assistance. Since the Taliban’s return to power, the economy has been on the verge of collapse. Additionally, according to the United Nations, a rapid influx of returnees increases the risk of further internal displacement. The original rationale for TPS is a complex humanitarian crisis and ongoing armed conflict in a country. While the latter condition does not obtain, the former has, if anything, deteriorated. Arguing that TPS should be removed simply because too much time has passed ignores the plain statutory requirement: The return must be safe. Right now, it is clearly not.
Returning those in America who have been under TPS to Afghanistan will exacerbate the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
When the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021, there was grave concern that their swift takeover would mean an abysmal future for the most vulnerable in Afghanistan: women and girls.
At the time, a Taliban spokesperson assured the world that women would be allowed to continue their education up to the university level, and that they didn’t “want women to be victims.”
Yet over the past four years, the Taliban have systematically obliterated the rights of women and girls. At the beginning of July, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, accusing them of persecuting women and girls.
Many Afghan girls and young women had only known a life free of harsh restrictions until the fall of Kabul. When the U.S. liberated Afghanistan in 2001, women began to enjoy newfound freedoms. But since the Taliban takeover, women and girls have been denied the right to most areas of public life and work.
Women are banned from parks, gyms, university education, and working at nongovernmental groups. Girls are prohibited from attending school beyond sixth grade.
Women’s basic freedom of movement is severely restricted. There are limits on their ability to travel long distances without a male chaperone. There have also been reports of physical violence against women and an increase in girls being forced to become child brides.
Returning to Afghanistan is not safe for women or girls.
Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. Conversion from Islam to Christianity is punishable by death under Islamic law. According to Open Doors U.S., apostasy laws have been “increasingly enforced since the Taliban took control of the country in 2021.” The majority of Afghan Christians are converts, putting virtually all Christians in Afghanistan at grave risk. As Open Doors U.S. notes, “Women and ethnic minorities experience additional oppression. Christians among these groups live under unthinkable pressure.”
Recently, an Afghan Christian, pastoring a church in Oklahoma, shared a sobering firsthand account of what will happen if Afghan Christians are deported back to Afghanistan. He says, “The first thing that will happen is the husbands will be killed, the wives will be taken as sex slaves. If they don’t kill them, they’ll put them in prison and beat them every single night.”
In May, a group of prominent faith leaders sent a letter to President Trump and Secretary Noem urging them to protect Afghan Christians facing the threat of deportation and to sustain the U.S. refugee resettlement program as a lifeline for those fleeing religious persecution. This letter was signed by leaders of conservative Christian organizations, ministries focused on advocating for international religious freedom, and organizations representing evangelical Christian denominations and congregations.
The White House has said of Afghan Christians that “Afghans lacking legal grounds to stay and fearing persecution on protected grounds may apply for asylum and have the courts adjudicate their case.”
Returning to Afghanistan is not safe for Christians or religious minorities.
Many Afghans in the United States have the legal right to apply for asylum, particularly given the well-documented threats to adherents of minority religions, women, journalists, former U.S. allies, and other vulnerable populations under the Taliban regime.
Under U.S. law, individuals with pending asylum applications are generally protected from deportation until their cases are fully adjudicated. However, in a deeply concerning development, some Afghans, including those who have already initiated the asylum process, have received formal notices from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) instructing them to depart the U.S. within just seven days or face criminal prosecution, fines, or forced deportation. If this means they must return to Afghanistan, it could mean martyrdom.
This past Monday, an appeals court issued a one-week stay to keep TPS for Afghans in place. Yet this relief will likely be temporary, and thousands of Afghans will still face the removal of their TPS soon.
During President Trump’s first term, protecting domestic and international religious freedom was a policy priority. Consistent with this, President Trump and his administration should protect Afghan women and girls, Afghan Christians, and our Afghan allies — all of whom would face violence, oppression, and possibly death if they returned to Afghanistan.