Two months ago, Christian refugees from Afghanistan received notices that their humanitarian parole had been terminated. The notice told them to leave the country within a week or face deportation by the government. Then nothing happened. Now, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has declared that their Temporary Protected Status will not officially end until July 14.

Multiple Christian leaders and organizations, including Family Research Council, collectively signed a letter to President Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem back in April when the original notice went out from DHS. The letter requested that the government continue to protect the Christian refugees and suggested the U.S. refugee resettlement program as a method of protection.

“Afghanistan is among the most dangerous places in the world for Christians. Conversion from Islam is considered apostasy under Taliban rule and is punishable by imprisonment or execution,” the groups explained. “Forcing them to return under such circumstances would be a tragedy in the making and a blight on America’s record of defending persecuted Christians.”

Although DHS still has not forcefully deported any of the Christian refugees back to Afghanistan, the department ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the Afghan refugees in May.

“TPS exists to protect people from being returned to countries experiencing armed conflict, humanitarian disasters, or other extraordinary conditions,” Chelsea Sobolik, director of Government Relations at World Relief, told The Washington Stand.

However, Noem declared that Afghanistan no longer fit the requirement for TPS.

“This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” Noem reiterated in a news release by DHS. “Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent[s] them from returning to their home country. Additionally, the termination furthers the national interest as DHS records indicate that there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security. Reviewing TPS designations is a key part of restoring integrity in our immigration system.” 

While Afghanistan may have a more stable economy than previously, its monetary welfare is not the worry of pastors and advocates who are speaking out on behalf of the refugees. They worry that the Taliban will continue to persecute Christians for their faith, as they have done previously and have shown no sign of stopping.

Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council Arielle Del Turco worried especially about Afghan refugees who had previously helped the U.S. Military. She feared that they, as well as Christian refugees, would have an even greater target on their backs if they returned to Afghanistan.

“With the Taliban in charge, it appears to be as dangerous as ever for Christian converts in Afghanistan,” Del Turco told TWS. “The Taliban has openly threatened to kill Christian converts from Islam, and there have been reports that the Taliban has gone house to house searching for Christians. … As a matter of wisdom, U.S. officials should not take for granted that a brutal terrorist group would have gained more respect for Christians over the last few years for no apparent reason. We should be proceeding with extreme caution here because innocent lives are on the line.”

Del Turco was mystified as to why DHS had declared Afghanistan safe for refugees to return. On June 9, President Trump recently followed up on an executive order he made soon after beginning his second term that banned or restricted travel from 19 countries, including Afghanistan, on account of national security and public safety concerns.

“Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian or a member of a minority group, and deporting individuals back to these conditions contradicts both American values and our commitment to human rights,” Sobolik insisted. “With the Taliban controlling the country, conditions for women, girls, and religious minorities have not improved.”

“The U.S. government has mechanisms for promoting religious freedom around the world, including by providing a safe haven for some religious believers fleeing persecution,” Del Turco noted. “These tools should be used judiciously, and I think it should be a high priority to protect Afghan Christians in this way. The potential consequences for their return — which is a brutal death — is too serious to ignore.”