Washington, D.C. – The arrest and detention of Afghanistan asylum seekers in the United States seems to be taking a sharp rise, especially after a recent event when an Afghan citizen was accused of shooting a US National Guard soldier.
The lawyers are labelling the situation as causing a tremendous chilling effect on the communities in Afghanistan, whereby people now fear moving out of their homes.
Most of the targeted people came to the US during the Biden administration, escaping the Taliban following the US exit from Afghanistan in 2021. They consist of those individuals who have sought asylum at the border between the US and Mexico in the past two years or arrived via Operation Allies Welcome and obtained temporary legal status known as humanitarian parole.
Arrests Without Warning
There are some distressing cases of arrests reported by attorneys. As reported by The Guardian, Amir, an asylum seeker in Indiana and a former inmate of the Taliban who escaped to Indiana, was pulled over by an unmarked vehicle and was cuffed at the time he was heading home after taking an English class. He had been adhering to all the conditions, such as the ankle monitor. Agents informed him that his visa time is over, but they did not provide any particular explanation as to why they had arrested him.
Another Afghan asylum seeker was arrested in New York, merely after following an instruction to report to an office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Lawyers in Northern California indicated that there were almost 25 arrests of asylum seekers in the community or during regular check-ins in the past two weeks.
The attorneys underline that a large portion of the detained had no criminal record and were entirely meeting the immigration law. One of the lawyers told me that clients have been complaining that they are highly anxious and incredibly scared of what is going to happen to them tomorrow.
Policy Shifts Add to Confusion
This wave of arrests follows the Trump administration, which recently declared major policy changes that significantly limit legal immigration pathways. These changes include suspending asylum determinations of almost 1.5 million individuals in the country and stopping the processing of green card and citizenship applications, or asylum applications of immigrants who have citizenship from 19 countries.
Although legal experts have reiterated that asylum seekers awaiting hearings still have a case to present, ICE has been reportedly arresting and detaining these Afghans until the time their cases are determined.
Facing the Danger of Return
The fear of the Afghan community is enhanced by the fact that they know what will happen to them in case of their deportation. Most of the people who escaped were former government officials or religious minority representatives.
To individuals such as Amir, who is part of the Hazara Shiite minority, a group that has experienced increasing violence and persecution since 2021, going back to Afghanistan would be tantamount to being arrested, tortured, or killed by the Taliban.
