A bipartisan duo of senators is urging the Trump administration to reverse course on revoking the special legal protection for Afghan nationals who came to the United States after the Taliban took over the country in 2021, calling the move “a historic betrayal.”
In a new letter, obtained first by NBC News, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, urge Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to reverse course, warning them about the message the move sends to those who have helped the U.S. abroad.
“This decision endangers thousands of lives, including Afghans who stood by the United States,” the letter reads, “This decision represents a historic betrayal of promises made and undermines the values we fought for far more than 20 years in Afghanistan.”
The Trump administration’s decision affects more than 8,000 Afghan nationals in the United States who obtained Temporary Protected Status (also known as TPS) to flee the country, many of whom had assisted the U.S. military operation in the country before they withdrew in 2021.
DHS will designate a country as TPS “due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately,” according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
On May 12, Noem announced that TPS for Afghanistan would be terminated effective July 14, saying that after consultation with the State Department, “Secretary Noem determined that conditions in Afghanistan no longer meet the statutory requirements.”
“Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country,” Noem said in a statement announcing the decision, with DHS saying Noem had “determined that permitting Afghan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States.”
Shaheen and Murkowski disagree, saying in the letter, “conditions on the ground in Afghanistan have steadily deteriorated with a fragile economy, limited access to basic services and a closing space for fundamental human rights and freedoms.”
“Revoking TPS for Afghans in the United States exposes these individuals to the very real threat of persecution, violence and even death under Taliban rule,” the two write, urging the Trump administration to reconsider the decision. “Beyond the moral and humanitarian obligation, doing so reaffirms to our allies and partners around the world that the United States stands by those who stand with us.”