Trump Decides It's Time for Afghans to Leave the US.

From The Hill (edited)

The Trump administration on Monday formally lifted a shield on deportation of Afghans in the U.S., arguing improving conditions in the Taliban-run country mean its U.S.-based citizens no longer merit such protections.

The announcement from the Department of Homeland Security would end temporary protected status (TPS) for Afghans, a protection offered by the Biden administration after the U.S. withdrawal amid deteriorating conditions in the country.

TPS can be initiated when the administration concludes it’s not safe to deport people to their country due to civil unrest or other dangerous conditions.

“This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday in a release.

“We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation. Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.”

The Afghan-American Foundation condemned the move when plans to lift the protections were first reported last month, calling it a betrayal of those who assisted the U.S. during its 20 years in the country.

“The sacrifices Afghan allies made in service of the American mission in Afghanistan were not temporary, the protection we offer them must also be permanent. Any instance of that protection being pulled is not only a betrayal of these allies but of the 800,000 Americans who served alongside them in Afghanistan and the countless Americans who have worked to evacuate them to safety since 2021,” Joseph Azam, the chair of the group’s board, said in a statement.

“The President got elected in part on the promise that he would fix the mistakes of the Biden administration in Afghanistan, by betraying Afghans he would be repeating one of the biggest ones.”

Many of the roughly 80,000 Afghans who came to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul have adjusted their status, either securing asylum or a Special Immigrant Visa given to those who assisted U.S. military efforts. But some 14,600 are still protected under TPS.

Homeland Security was being sued for its plans to end TPS for Afghans even before Monday’s announcement.

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Northwest · M

They changed their minds? They were getting ready to impeach Biden, because some Afghans were left behind, as they claimed.

CedricH · 22-25, M

@Northwest Well, those were Congressional Republicans, not Trump or Kristi Noem. And honestly, they were right to excoriate the Biden administration for their ignominious withdrawal from Afghanistan but it was obviously just reflexive, partisan noise and nothing genuine unless and until we see Senators and Congressman rushing to the White House and to the DHS building to lobby on behalf of Afghans who‘re shielded from deportation under the TPS.

Then again… Rubio the loudest voice in the Senate against Maduro (a voice I always appreciated as such) is now both Secretary of State and National Security Adviser in an administration that would strip all Venezuelans of TPS, reverse their asylum status and deport them without due process to an El Salvadoran concentration camp or to the Libyan desert.

Northwest · M

@CedricH

And honestly, they were right to excoriate the Biden administration for their ignominious withdrawal from Afghanistan

Why?

CedricH · 22-25, M

@Northwest Because it was a mistake to withdraw and they even managed to execute the mistake poorly from a logistical point of view. So criticism was absolutely warranted in a democracy for that sort of blunder and tragic misjudgement, alas, Republicans are hardly a normal opposition party anymore that could legitimately claim any sort of outrage. But I try to abstract that from the fact that their critique of Biden‘s Afghanistan policy was on its merits justified.

Northwest · M

@CedricH

Because it was a mistake to withdraw and they even managed to execute the mistake poorly from a logistical point of view. So criticism was absolutely warranted in a democracy for that sort of blunder and tragic misjudgement, alas, Republicans are hardly a normal opposition party anymore that could legitimately claim any sort of outrage. But I try to abstract that from the fact that their critique of Biden‘s Afghanistan policy was on its merits justified.

That's a word salad, with absolutely no specifics.

CedricH · 22-25, M

@Northwest Ah. Well, you were asking a very open and general question and I gave you a straightforward reason for why I thought excoriating the abandonment of Afghanistan was and is appropriate. I didn’t write you an essay about the specific pitfalls of Biden‘s Afghanistan withdrawal because it seems to me as more or less unrelated to the original post here but if you‘d like to have that discussion, feel free to DM me and ask more specific questions if you expect more specific replies instead of literally just asking

Why?

and then complaining about a general response.
Finally, I don’t appreciate your calling my reply “word salad”. If you have an issue with the grammar or the punctuation, please be specific. Thanks.

Northwest · M

@CedricH In other words, you pulled an opinion out of thing air, and you have no idea how you back it up. Thank you.

CedricH · 22-25, M

@Northwest Are you illiterate?

CedricH · 22-25, M

@Northwest Again, if you want to have the debate let’s have it. I think the most appropriate forum for it would be our direct messages. I‘m sure I could convince you of my position. But brushing it off like you do seems somewhat ignorant.