Kristi Noem says Afghans can return safely under Taliban rule. Experts say that's 'patently obscene'

Earlier DU thread: Noem's claim that Afghan refugees can safely return to their Taliban-ruled homeland is 'just absurd,' advocates say

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Source: The Independent

Kristi Noem says Afghans can return safely under Taliban rule. Experts say that’s ‘patently obscene’

The administration is ending temporary legal status for thousands of Afghans, which advocates fear is a ‘death sentence’

Alex Woodward
in New York
Wednesday 14 May 2025 17:21 BST

Donald Trump’s administration is pointing to an increase in tourism under Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to justify the cancellation of humanitarian protections for more than 11,000 Afghans in the United States.

On Monday, the administration announced plans to strip temporary protected status to roughly 11,700 Afghans who fled the country following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, which led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in the wake of the devastating years-long war.

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

Refugee aid and resettlement groups have blasted the administration’s decision, noting that many Afghans are now threatened with being removed from a country they risked their lives to support.

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Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tps-afghanistan-taliban-trump-cancel-b2749659.html

Alternate link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-ends-protections-afghans-234338647.html