For the 10,000 Afghan refugees who have made the U.S. home after fleeing a growing humanitarian crisis under Taliban rule, the future is no longer even temporarily secure. On May 12, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it will terminate Afghanistan’s designation for Temporary Protected Status, effective July 14, devastating not only its beneficiaries but also the communities that have embraced them.  

This is personal to me. And it should be personal for anyone who believes in standing up to oppression and protecting those most at risk. 

Created in 1990, Temporary Protected Status provides individuals from countries facing armed conflict, environmental disaster or other extraordinary conditions, with legal status and work authorization for renewable 18-month periods. Applicants undergo thorough background checks to be eligible for and maintain their status.

They are not admitted if they are felons, have several misdemeanors, or fail to meet the other requirements for the program, as outlined by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status has served as an incredibly effective legal pathway for refugees fleeing various large-scale conflicts to find safety while helping to strengthen American communities and our economy.

The Biden administration redesignated Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status in the fall of 2023 for good reason. The Taliban’s return had brought with it renewed political repression, severe economic collapse and destruction of fundamental rights, especially for women and girls. None of that has changed.

Yet now, DHS has announced protections will be stripped away in a few short weeks.  

Moreover, the Trump administration’s recent travel ban, which includes Afghanistan, adds further confusion, chaos, and contradiction to this decision. When lifting Afghanistan’s Temporary Protected Status designation, the administration cited Afghanistan’s security and economic improvements as a reason for doing so. However, when implementing the travel ban, the administration noted security issues and a lack of “appropriate screening and vetting measures” as justification.

This is more than a policy misstep. It is a moral failure. President Trump, who rightfully criticized his predecessor for his chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan as “the most embarrassing event in the history of our country,” is effectively sending families back into the grip of a Taliban regime sanctioned by his administration as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

This issue hits me particularly close to home. Decades ago, I served in Iran through the Peace Corps and later as the press attaché at the embassy in Tehran, where I was held hostage for 444 days. Despite this trauma, I returned to the region after 9/11 to work on the Afghan Education Project, coordinated by Teachers College, Columbia University. For three years, I worked to modify the school curriculum to erase Taliban-imposed propaganda and foster a more open, free and democratic society.

During that time, I became close with my driver and occasional translator, Shamgul. Without him, the work could not have happened, and my own safety would have been at greater risk. He helped keep me and many others safe as we moved through Kabul and beyond. We considered each other family. After the Taliban regained power, I tried desperately to get officials in Washington to bring him and his two sons to America, but failed, and Shamgul was murdered by the Taliban for having worked with us.

Families that did make it to America are now being abandoned and told they must return to danger and perhaps a similar fate. This must not happen.

The program was created to prevent this scenario. It offers stability, safety and the chance to contribute. And it works. Afghan Temporary Protected Status holders contribute $296 million to the U.S. economy annually, and the program remains popular among voters. According to a joint poll by the SEIU and FWD.us, 66 percent of voters in battleground states support using the program as an effective legal pathway for protection from deportation and for work authorization.

The Trump administration’s decision to remove Afghanistan’s designation and subsequent travel ban is a betrayal of American values.

I have spent my life on the front lines of the U.S. mission to advance democracy, human rights, peace and security. I strongly encourage the current administration to live up to these ideals and protect innocent Afghans seeking refuge. The moral test of a nation is how it treats those with the least power. Right now, we are failing that test. 

Barry Rosen is a veteran of the Peace Corps, survivor of the Iran Hostage Crisis and a co-founder of Hostage Aid Worldwide. He worked with UNICEF in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2005.