Afghan Refugees Fear Uncertain Future After US Immigration Halt
KABUL — Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees face renewed uncertainty after the United States suspended all immigration applications from Afghanistan, a move triggered by a recent shooting near the White House that U.S. authorities described as a terror attack.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Thursday it had “stopped indefinitely” processing immigration requests from Afghan nationals. The decision came hours after two National Guard members were shot in Washington, D.C. The Department of Homeland Security identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome—a program that resettled Afghans following the American withdrawal.
In a social media statement, President Donald Trump condemned the “heinous assault” as an “act of evil” and called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees admitted under the previous administration. The suspension compounds an already stringent U.S. policy toward Afghan immigration, following a travel ban imposed earlier this year on Afghanistan and 11 other nations.
For many Afghans who supported U.S. and NATO operations, the suspension dashes hopes of relocation amid ongoing threats from the Taliban. Ejaz, a former Afghan Air Force soldier now living in Pakistan, expressed the desperation felt by many. “We have no future here. Our only hope was to reach America,” he said. “As a former soldier, I cannot go back. If I return, I will be targeted and killed by the Taliban.”
He urged U.S. authorities to assess cases individually: “Do not punish the rest of us … Do not abandon us. Our situation is not good; it is desperate.”
Obaidullah Baheer, a political science lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, criticized the blanket suspension as “collective punishment.” He emphasized that the act of one individual should not define an entire nation or justify halting lifesaving resettlement programs.
The suspension leaves refugees like Sahar—a mother of five living in hiding in Pakistan—in deepening peril. “We are on a list for evacuation, but now we are also on a list for deportation,” she shared. “The world is closing in on us, and there is no escape route left.”
Pakistan, which hosted around four million Afghans until 2023, has accelerated deportations this year amid strained bilateral relations. For those with nowhere to turn, the U.S. pause represents not just a procedural delay, but a potential death sentence.
“I beg the American government to rethink this,” Sahar said. “You asked us to stand for modernity and human rights. We did. Now, in our darkest hour, we are being left behind.”
As the U.S. recalibrates its immigration policies, the fate of countless Afghans who once placed their trust in American promises hangs in the balance.
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