Trump increases deportations: Thousands of migrants from Afghanistan face risk
Donald Trump, President of the US (photo: Getty Images)
The Trump administration is moving to revoke humanitarian protections for migrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, and several other countries who are currently in the US under violence protection programs, according to Bloomberg.
US authorities plan to end deportation protections for more than 8,000 Afghan migrants, most of whom arrived following the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021.
On Friday, April 11, the US Department of Homeland Security said that conditions in Afghanistan no longer meet the criteria for granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a designation intended for nationals of countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances. The administration of former President Joe Biden first granted TPS to Afghans in 2022, citing the ongoing threat of violence following the troop withdrawal.
Trump is terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for citizens of several countries, including Venezuela and Haiti, amid a broader crackdown that has seen tens of thousands of undocumented migrants arrested and deported. On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security also announced it would end TPS for roughly 3,200 Cameroonian nationals who have been protected under the program since 2022. Their status is set to expire on June 7.
The immigrant advocacy group CASA, which defends the rights of migrants from Cameroon and other Black and Latino communities, said it plans to file a lawsuit to reinstate TPS protections.
"By ending TPS for Cameroon, President Trump has again prioritized his instincts for ethnic cleansing by forcibly returning people to violence, human rights violations and a humanitarian crisis," said CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres in a statement.
TPS for Afghan nationals is scheduled to expire in mid-May.
Trump administration policy on migrants
Since taking office, US President Donald Trump and his administration have launched an aggressive deportation policy targeting migrants across the country.
In March, a federal court blocked Trump’s move to end visa-free protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans.
Earlier this week, another federal judge announced plans to temporarily halt the administration’s effort to revoke humanitarian protection for over 500,000 nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, who legally entered the US under a parole program initiated during Joe Biden’s presidency.
The administration has also escalated pressure on student visa holders and even legal permanent residents (Green Card holders).
More than 200 men - mostly Venezuelan nationals - were recently deported to El Salvador’s notorious maximum-security prison under the Trump administration’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. The men were accused of links to the Venezuelan transnational gang Tren de Aragua, although investigators say only a small number had ever been formally charged with serious crimes in the US.
Additionally, the administration has reinstated a long-dormant immigrant registration requirement, not enforced since World War II. Undocumented foreigners over the age of 14 who have been in the US for more than 30 days must now register or face criminal charges and daily fines of up to $1,000. The registration rule also applies to some Canadian tourists planning extended stays in the US.
Earlier this week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that the administration is working to expand deportation measures further.
