USA (MNN) — Afghans living in the United States could face deportation when temporary protections expire as early as May 20.
Hundreds of Afghan citizens and military allies were evacuated and given Temporary Protected Status or TPS following the sloppy withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021. These legal protections will expire for approximately 14,600 Afghans in May, while others will lose them from July through October.
Some Afghan military allies in Des Moines, Iowa, began receiving deportation notices in April.
“They’re (politicians) thinking at the 30,000-foot level of ‘we want to accomplish this goal,’ or ‘we want to lessen the number of people who are here on certain types of visas,’ but they’re not thinking about people who are here because they would be in danger if they go home,” Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says.
While anyone known to partner with the U.S. would be at risk under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, believers fall into a special category. They’re considered apostates.
“The Quran teaches that apostates should be allowed to return to Islam, and if they refuse, they should be killed, so it is not overstatement at all to say that lives are at risk if Christians are forced to return to Afghanistan,” Nettleton explains.
“Being forced to return could mean arrest. It could mean imprisonment. It could even mean death.”
Faith leaders are lobbying the Trump administration for deportation exemptions for roughly 300 Afghan Christians sheltering in the U.S.
Afghans evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, shortly after the Taliban takeover.
“I’m thankful for Christian leaders who have the ear of the White House and are raising this issue, saying if we send those people back to Afghanistan, they are likely to be imprisoned or killed,” Nettleton says.
“That needs to be something that the White House understands and can be factored into some of these decisions.”
Find your place in the story
If you’re reading this in the U.S., consider sharing this report with your representative. The buttons at the bottom of this page make it easy.
“Letting our government leaders know this is something we’re concerned about, something we do not support, hopefully, gets their attention and allows those making these decisions to consider at the ground level what these policies mean,” Nettleton says.
“You make policy at a 30,000-foot level, and when you get down on the ground amongst real people affected by that policy, you realize that oftentimes, there are some unintended consequences along the way.”
Most importantly, pray. Nettleton requests that you “pray for US government leaders to have wisdom and discernment” as they make decisions and shape foreign policy.
“Pray also for Afghan Christians wondering what the future holds,” he says.
Learn why Afghanistan is a dangerous place for those who follow Jesus.
Header image depicts people boarding an evacuation flight in Kabul during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal in August 2021. (Wikimedia Commons)
