Afghan Refugees Stuck in Limbo as USRAP Suspension Defies Court Order

Afghan legal professionals face deadly threats, but a federal injunction and a last-minute boarding letter helped one family escape. Thousands more remain in limbo.

On February 10, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) filed a lawsuit in the Western District of Washington challenging President Donald Trump's January 20 executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). On February 25, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction, forcing the government to recommence USRAP processing.

In the weeks following the injunction, Afghan USRAP applicants at processing hubs around the world have still been forbidden from departing for the U.S. A single Afghan USRAP applicant and her family have skirted the prohibition, however, thanks to a workaround that advocates see as a method for other well-vetted, travel-ready refugees to follow in their path. 

"A Beautiful Accident"

Priority-1 USRAP applicant Freshta was a prosecutor for the former Afghan government. Because she used a burgeoning Western legal system to bring justice for victims of domestic violence, she was a prime target for Taliban retribution following the group's ascent to power in August 2021. Her husband Hadi, a renowned journalist, was also at risk after the U.S. withdrawal, already having survived a stabbing attack in 2012 because of his anti-Taliban positions.

When the Taliban seized power in their homeland, Freshta and Hadi fled to Pakistan, where they lived in a one-bedroom apartment with their two children for more than three years while awaiting the processing for Freshta's USRAP case.

Life in Pakistan has been difficult for Afghan refugees, who cannot be processed in their homeland, where there is no operational U.S. Embassy. The cost of living is higher in Pakistan, and refugees are not able to work or send their children to school.

The situation became more difficult in late 2023 when the Pakistani government began deporting large numbers of Afghan migrants, causing fear in the American allies awaiting the processing of USRAP or Special Immigrant Visa cases. When a new wave of deportation began in late 2024, Hadi found himself in Pakistani custody. The police threatened Hadi with deportation, placing him in a small room with around 15 other Afghans, some of whom had visas or protection documents from European countries.

Hadi worried that he would be handed "directly to the Taliban border forces" and notified volunteers that he was in trouble.

Since his wife's USRAP processing was finished and the family had already been scheduled for travel in early February, the State Department issued Hadi's family a Global Boarding Letter as proof for the Pakistani police that Hadi was preparing to leave the country. Upon receipt of the document, Hadi was released.

"I came home and the next day they told me all of [the other detainees were] deported to Afghanistan," Hadi said. He now describes detention as "a beautiful accident" since his Global Boarding Letter became his pass to freedom.

"We Got Out of Hell"

The nonprofit Jewish Humanitarian Response has been working with the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA) to assist Afghan legal professionals with access to USRAP as they slowly make their way through the processing pipeline. The risk they face is clear: Since 2021, there have been 57 documented cases of former Afghan legal professionals or their family members being murdered in the de facto government's reprisal campaign.

APA's Task Force Counsel Mark Dumaine said that at the time of the January 20 executive order, hundreds of Afghan judges and prosecutors remained unprocessed, including 45 women deemed at special risk.

Injustice struck Freshta's family exceedingly hard since they all had plane tickets in hand when the suspension went into effect. Freshta "was mentally crushed by that, because it really did seem like it was the last opportunity," Dumaine said.

When a federal judge ordered the resumption of the USRAP at the end of February, Freshta's supporters saw a window of possibility. A coterie of volunteers secured travel plans and found the family an American attorney. Because their Global Boarding Letter had been issued prior to Trump's executive order, Hadi was able to convince Pakistani officials to allow his family to board their flight to Seattle.

When they arrived in Washington, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer examined a virtual copy of the federal judge's injunction before collecting Hadi and Freshta's electronic devices and situating them in a small room, where the family waited to learn their fate.

After a tense hour and a half, the official returned to congratulate the family and welcome them to the U.S.

Hadi turned to Freshta, who was now shedding happy tears. "This is what freedom looks like," he told her. "You are now free."

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar C. Moore III, along with a host of other Americans, were waiting to welcome the family to their new home. Moore described feeling myriad emotions. "You could see the toll it's taken on Freshta for sure," he said. "She's lost weight. Her skin color is different." At the same time, he enthused, "You have to see their children dancing and laughing. You have to see them so relieved."

Locals have responded enthusiastically to APA's attempts to raise funds and gather household goods for the newly arrived family. "We can't even keep up with the calls," Moore said.

The kindness of strangers has been meaningful for Hadi and Freshta. "We are really lucky people," Hadi said. "All of that anxiety and fear—it was a really bad life we had the last four years. It was like hell. And we got out of hell."

Hadi also noted that he recognizes that many "families in Pakistan have no support, no income….It's a really bad situation for all of those people."

"A Death Sentence"

The Pakistani government has threatened to deport all Afghan citizens starting on April 1—19 days before the USRAP suspension is set to end.

Dumaine stressed that if the female prosecutors are deported to Afghanistan, "that's a death sentence." At present, the only thing holding the women back from entry is a Global Boarding Letter.

The government's current efforts to restart USRAP are nonexistent, with IRAP stating on March 11 that "the government's attorney was unable to specify a single concrete step the government had taken to comply with the injunction." Dumaine believes that the federal government's compliance should be measured by the number of Global Boarding Letters they issue to Afghan USRAP applicants.

The State Department did not respond to questions about whether it has issued or intends to issue Global Boarding Letters to USRAP applicants.