Flickers of Hope for Afghans Caught in Legal Limbo

A federal court clears the way for a broader legal challenge to Trump’s refugee policies, even as Afghans in the U.S. face detention, expired protections, and rising fears of deportation.

In late July, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) made headway in its Pacito v. Trump lawsuit, which challenged President Donald Trump's January 20 executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead denied the government's motion to dismiss and ruled that IRAP may create a class-action suit to allow all parties to "seek…broad relief from government policies."

IRAP litigation fellow Megan Hauptman said that this decision does not "alter the scope of the preliminary injunction currently in place," meaning that at present, the government is only required "to process cases of refugees who had travel booked on or before January 20, 2025." 

However, Hauptman also said that "recent court decisions allow the litigation to move forward on behalf of all refugees harmed by the unlawful refugee ban." An IRAP press release names the suit's three subclasses as all USRAP applicants awaiting processing, any Afghan or Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) recipients who did not receive resettlement support following a January 24 stop work order, and refugees awaiting the resettlement of family members through the follow-to-join program.

The news may provide hope to Afghan refugees facing deportation in Pakistan and uncertainty at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar. Stateside, however, Afghans who have lost parole or status continue to await an unknown fate.

Currently, parole has been revoked for a portion of the 8,100 Afghans who entered the U.S. through the southern border using the Customs and Border Protection's now defunct One app, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was revoked from around 11,700 Afghans in July. Additionally, Afghans who arrived in the U.S. during Operation Allies Refuge in August 2021 were granted two years of humanitarian parole. Their parole was extended in 2023 but is soon set to expire, which will leave an unknown number of parolees in precarious legal standing.

Jill Marie Bussey, director for legal affairs at Global Refuge, told me that Afghans with TPS began receiving notices of termination in early August. For those without additional protections, Bussey said she suspects "the next step…will be the issuance of Notices to Appear" in immigration court.

Though bipartisan legislation proposed in the Senate on August 1 may provide eventual support for Afghans who require additional protections, a number of Afghans have already faced arrest and await possible deportation in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. 

On June 12, Sayed Naser was arrested by masked ICE agents outside his immigration court hearing. Though he has an SIV application underway, Naser entered the U.S. through the southern border after the Taliban killed his brother.

A judge dismissed Naser's asylum case on June 26, which placed him in expedited removal proceedings. However, Naser demonstrated that he faced a threat to his life if returned to Afghanistan during his credible fear interview and has since been allowed to resubmit an asylum application, his lawyer Brian McGoldrick said on a Zoom call.

In late 2024, Nasrin, who spoke with me on the condition of anonymity, fled to the U.S. to escape her abusive ex-husband, who sought to marry her daughter to a member of the Taliban after the terrorist group's takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. Upon arrival in the U.S., Nasrin, along with her daughter and two of her sons, was placed in ICE detention. Nasrin and her daughter were released, but both of her sons remain in ICE facilities. Nasrin "worries a lot" about the unknown future of her sons.

Former interpreter Mahmud, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, entered the U.S. in 2014 through the SIV program. His brother, Fawad, applied for an SIV through work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and fled to Mexico after his half-brother was murdered. After waiting eight months in Mexico for a CBP One app appointment, Fawad crossed the border in March 2025 and was immediately detained. ICE rejected his claim for asylum and now insists Fawad must be deported to Afghanistan.

Mahmud reports that Fawad has not been granted a credible fear interview and is being moved to different ICE facilities around the country, which makes it difficult for his family to acquire expensive legal representation. Mahmud says Fawad's depression and other health issues are "getting worse in detention centers."

Zia S. was arrested by masked ICE agents in Connecticut on July 16 during an immigration appointment and placed in a Massachusetts detention facility. Zia did not arrive in the U.S. through the southern border but came by plane in October 2024 after receiving humanitarian parole.

Though Zia's parole protections extend until October 2026, CT Insider reported that an ICE acting deputy field office director claimed they learned that "Zia poses a risk to national security from the FBI around May 24 as part of its work with a Joint Terrorism Task Force." The Department of Homeland Security has also stated that Zia is "under investigation for a serious criminal allegation."

Zia's lawyer Lauren Petersen told CT Insider that Zia "has never and does not now pose a threat to national security." 

In anticipation of our Afghan allies facing additional legal difficulties in the months to come, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and AfghanEvac have created Battle Buddies, which pairs veteran volunteers with allies facing court dates, immigration appointments, or other interactions where they may be at risk of arrest.