President Donald Trump’s administration has determined that Afghanistan is safe to return to. Veterans in Congress aren’t so sure — particularly for people who helped U.S. troops and could now face deportation.
On Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced an end to temporary protected status for Afghans in the U.S., saying the nation’s “improved security situation” means those protections should no longer apply. Currently more than 9,000 Afghans have TPS, some of whom helped the U.S. government during its long engagement with the country.
Many veterans in Congress said they were concerned about the potential that Afghans who have helped the U.S. could lose their protections and be sent back to dangerous conditions.
“There needs to be exceptions made for documented Afghans that have proof that they served alongside us and whose lives are at risk,” said Sen. Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL who was deployed to Afghanistan. “I know two of them personally who are trying to make sure they stay here and their status is protected, because we owe it to them.”
While there were dedicated visas for some interpreters and others who worked with the U.S., Trump’s pause on refugee resettlement means many are unable to get here. But TPS was given to some Afghans who helped the U.S. but weren’t able to obtain documents proving it. Sheehy said those without documents should be vetted, but those with letters of support from military personnel who worked with them should be protected.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, who was deployed to Iraq with the Marine Corps, said Noem, Trump and Vice President JD Vance “should all be ashamed of themselves.”
“It’s disgusting,” Gallego said of the TPS decision. “It’s going to be really hard for us to ever get people to support us that have real understanding of their communities, because when we tell them, ‘Hey, if you help us, we will get your family out of there to save you,’ they’re not going to believe us.”
Temporary protected status allows people from specific countries to stay in the U.S. for a limited period, generally because of unstable conditions in their home country. Republicans who oppose the program have said that some of those who have received TPS have had their status extended for years.
“This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” Noem said in a statement Monday. “We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation.”
The administration asserted that those who don’t have TPS can still go through other pathways to receive protections.
“In tandem with its failed Afghanistan withdrawal, the Biden administration illegally paroled tens of thousands of Afghans into the U.S., plus hundreds of thousands of other aliens,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. “Afghans lacking legal grounds to stay and fearing persecution on protected grounds may apply for asylum and have the courts adjudicate their cases.”
The TPS decision means that Afghanistan, where women aren’t allowed to speak in public, is considered safe to return to by the U.S. government.
Sen. Rick Scott, who served in the Navy, said he hadn’t heard of the revocation. Asked if he agrees that the situation in Afghanistan has improved, he said, “I don’t want to live there.”
Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot who flew combat missions in the Middle East, said, “Where do they get that? Did somebody go over there and look around? Because that’s not what I’m hearing.”
“It’s shortsighted,” he said of the TPS decision. “It’s not in the best interest of those individuals. It’s also not in the best interest of our country to abandon people like that.”
Ending TPS for Afghans doesn’t necessarily mean those who received it will be automatically deported. People on TPS may already have active asylum claims that are being adjudicated, or they may be trying to gather the documentation to be approved for other relief. TPS had offered them protection in the meantime.
It’s unclear what will happen to them now, but senators say they want people to be protected.
“I can tell you that the temporary protected status is something that was important to a lot of these folks who worked with our men and women who were in uniform,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, who serves on the Armed Services Committee.
“I’m very interested in protecting those Afghans who stood with us for years and years, and who we made a commitment to,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, an Air Force veteran.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who was deployed to Iraq as part of the CIA, stressed that Americans working in war zones are dependent on locals for help.
“Literally, your lives depend on local nationals who put their hand up and work with the U.S. government, and sending them back, particularly the women, is just a really scary prospect,” she said.
But Democrats expressed skepticism that Republicans would do much to protect Afghans from deportation.
Sen. Andy Kim, who was a civilian adviser to the State Department in Afghanistan during the Obama administration, said some of his Republican colleagues have expressed to him that they want to protect Afghans.
“It’s just a matter of, is this something that they’re willing to go to the mat for?” he said. “So far, I haven’t necessarily seen that.”
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Casey Murray is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.