Last month, the Department of Homeland Security announced it was terminating the temporary protected status, or TPS, for Afghans in the United States. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi spoke with a refugee resettlement agency about how this will affect Virginia residents.
In 2021, as the U.S. completed our withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban took control of the country, DHS implemented "Operation Allies Welcome" to support "vulnerable Afghans" as they resettled in America. A central goal was to protect Afghans who had worked with U.S. efforts, and might be targeted under the new Taliban regime.
In the spring of 2022, Harriet Kuhr, who was then the executive director of International Rescue Committee Virginia, told WMRA they had resettled 331 Afghan refugees in the greater Charlottesville area that fall –
HARRIET KUHR: … more people than we have ever resettled in Charlottesville in an entire 12-month period.
These Afghans, and others who came to Virginia and the rest of the U.S. after the fall of Kabul, arrived with a variety of immigration statuses. The Trump administration’s termination of TPS for refugees from Afghanistan affects about 9,000 people across the country, according to NPR. Others who came to the U.S. at this time achieved permanent statuses such as Special Immigrant Visas for those who were employed by the U.S. government, or an official refugee status.
JUSTIN GANDY: So through OAW – Operation Allies Welcome – IRC Virginia resettled 750 Afghans, at that time, who were arriving under a sort of parole designation. So they had not achieved an SIV status, or had not been granted refugee status through the normal process of a UNHCR referral to the U.S. Department of State.
Justin Gandy is the current executive director of International Rescue Committee Virginia, which has offices in Charlottesville and Richmond.
GANDY: For folks that arrived with parole status, we did work with them to either finalize their Special Immigrant Visa applications if they were eligible, to file an asylum case and process that through – we were putting folks on pathways for a more permanent status, because we knew that parole status was itself a temporary situation. So part of that is we did help individuals to acquire TPS and parole status simultaneously. So right now … of the folks that we work with, slightly more than 100 remain with TPS or a temporary status.
The termination is set to go into effect on July 14.
GANDY: Right now we are reviewing individuals' cases to see how we can connect them or potentially move forward any of their pending applications for SIV or other statuses that might prevent their removal. … Of course we are concerned for the families we support, and ultimately, their safety.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that "Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy" means that TPS holders can return to their home country. However, the UNHCR reports that while overall security has improved, significant challenges remain, including human rights violations, economic instability, food insecurity, and laws that restrict women and girls from being in public spaces, schools, universities, and workplaces.
GANDY: Afghanistan itself does not, is not currently stable. … About 23 million people in Afghanistan are in need of humanitarian aid. That's about 50% of the population. And here we are, folks who have sought safety, sought refuge in the United States, all of a sudden being told, "that's good enough, you can go back." Seeking safety is not a crime, right? These folks are here, they're working, they're contributing to our communities. They're your coworkers, they're your children's classmates in school, and they do not pose a threat.
Gandy said some of the people who have TPS hadn't yet gotten a Special Immigrant Visa because of the turmoil in Afghanistan.
GANDY: You know, folks who have supported the U.S. interests critically, and put their lives on the line for the United States, folks that were side by side with our soldiers working in all regions of Afghanistan, who maybe didn't, weren't able to complete their Special Immigrant Visa application due to the fall of Afghanistan with the troop withdrawal – you're going to look those families in the face and tell them that they need to go back. Folks who have become a target in their community because they supported the U.S.
Besides working to get permanent legal status for those 100-some Afghans, IRC Virginia is also supporting the economic wellbeing, safety, health, and education of their other clients who are already in the country. Since President Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program upon taking office, IRC Virginia says they've received several stop work orders and funding cancellations from the Department of State, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Commerce.
IRC Virginia is hosting a storytelling fundraiser event on June 27th at 6:30 p.m. at Vinegar Hill Theater in Charlottesville.
