Target: Kristi Noem, Secretary of Department of Homeland Security
Goal: Do not end Temporary Protected Status for Afghan refugees.
They worked alongside American forces in a highly volatile warzone. They came to America with the promise of a new life. Now, the government thousands of refugees assisted during the Afghanistan conflict is throwing them to the wolves once again. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it will soon end Temporary Protected Status for Afghan refugees. The news is particularly crushing for refugees from Afghanistan because Pakistan is also planning to deport refugees – including many Afghan women’s rights activists – back to Afghanistan, without cause or reason.
DHS justified its decision by claiming that conditions in Afghanistan are now stable and do not meet the criteria for protected status. But the country is still firmly under the Taliban’s iron fist, with all of the associated rights abuses that come along with that power. And the Taliban can and has persecuted individuals who aided Americans while the regime was out of power. Further, the economic conditions within the country are still deteriorating.
Sign the petition below to demand U.S. leadership stop abandoning and endangering allies who proved their loyalty and trust to American values.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Noem,
The United States government recently rolled out the welcome mat for wealthy white “refugees” from post-apartheid South Africa. These individuals will have almost no barriers to resettling in America because they are supposedly in grave danger. Meanwhile, this department has slammed the door in the faces of refugees from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, including men and women who actively aided American troops and officials.
Somehow, these refugees who will be forced to return to a misogynistic, authoritarian regime with a demonstrated deadly punitive streak do not meet the criteria for protection. Can anyone who assists America in the future expect more than a pat on the head and a shrug? Don’t make the refugee program a caste system, and do not send the message that security and freedom are for sale to the highest bidder.
Show refugees who risked their lives for America that they matter to America. Do not revoke the Temporary Protected Status for Afghans. Instead, make these protections permanent.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Ajmal Gharwal
