A photo dated August 26, 2021 of Afghans trying to reach foreign forces to show their identity papers with the aim of leaving the country outside Kabul airport (European Archive)
Afrasianet - President Donald Trump's administration plans to deport some Afghan migrants in the United States to Afghanistan, a U.S. official and a coalition of veterans reported.
Sean Vandeveer, president of the Afghan Evac organization, said a number of those facing deportation fled Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in 2021 and U.S. troops withdrew.
Vandeveer added that some of those facing deportation are "brothers and sons of men who served alongside U.S. forces, and the Taliban already have every reason to target them."
Vandiver urged the U.S. Congress to pass legislation granting Afghans living in the United States temporary protected status to protect them from deportation.
The New York Times quoted a U.S. official as saying that more than 150 Afghan migrants are expected to be deported, making the process one of the largest mass deportations of Afghans.
The newspaper reported that US authorities have detained dozens of Afghan migrants in Louisiana and plan to deport them, noting that the first flight is expected to take off soon, perhaps within days.
Because of the lack of diplomatic relations with the Taliban-led Afghan government, the United States cannot arrange direct deportations to Afghanistan, and a U.S. official said the deportations would take place through Pakistan.
By sending Afghan refugees to Pakistan, which in turn will send them to Afghanistan, the Trump administration has found a way to circumvent the obstacles that have so far prevented vulnerable Afghans from being repatriated, where they face the prospect of repression or reprisals.
Although previous U.S. administrations have deported small numbers of Afghans — sometimes relying on intermediaries — those trips have been limited to people facing serious criminal charges, often terrorism-related.
Over the past two years, the Trump administration has imposed restrictions on the immigration of Afghans who helped the U.S. war effort, and deported others to countries in Africa.
Trump argues that his crackdown on immigration and deportations is aimed at improving homeland security. Human rights advocates say these crackdown violates due process and freedom of expression, and have created an unsafe environment for minorities, who have expressed concern about racial profiling.
Pakistan has deported nearly 3 million Afghan refugees since 2023 (European)
Pakistan
Pakistan is currently carrying out its own campaign to mass deport Afghan refugees, along with practices aimed at forcing them to leave.
Since 2023, the Pakistani government has expelled or forced more than 2.7 million Afghan citizens to return to Afghanistan, considering their presence a threat to national security.
Pakistan's mass expulsions against Afghans are one of its tools to pressure the Kabul government, which Pakistan accuses of harboring militant groups that carry out sustained attacks on Pakistani soil but the Afghan government denies this.
Pakistan has vowed to expel all Afghans, some 1.5 million of whom still live on its territory, regardless of their legal status or residency permits.
In recent months, Pakistan has cancelled or refrained from renewing visas for Afghan health care professionals who had moved there to complete specialist training.
As a result, hundreds of Afghan doctors have been laid off and now face the risk of deportation.
Zainullah Niazmand, an Afghan heart surgeon working in the Pakistani city of Lahore, says he believes the Pakistani government, having already expelled Afghan refugees, traders and workers, is now intensifying its pressure on the Afghan government by deporting doctors. His visa was cancelled last year and he now faces the risk of deportation along with his wife and 3-year-old daughter.
Source: New York Times + Agencies
