RASC News Agency: In a recent editorial, The Washington Post issued a stark warning against the forced return of Afghanistani refugees, condemning remarks made by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. The newspaper emphasized that the security situation in Afghanistan remains dire, and any attempt to repatriate asylum seekers under such conditions would constitute a grave humanitarian failure. The report directly challenges Noem’s assertion that conditions in Afghanistan have “improved,” arguing that on-the-ground realities including a resurgence of violence and public executions tell a dramatically different story. It cites recent incidents in which the Taliban executed four men accused of murder in open-air stadiums across three provinces, in front of large crowds. Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada defended the executions, framing them as enforcement of “Islamic Sharia law.”
The controversy unfolds amid a decision by the Trump administration to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Afghanistani nationals who were evacuated to the United States following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. According to The Washington Post, this move has triggered widespread concern among human rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers. The paper reports that a significant number of American readers have voiced their support for continued protection of Afghanistani refugees. This support stems from both a moral responsibility particularly toward those who collaborated with U.S. military forces and an urgent humanitarian imperative to safeguard vulnerable groups, especially women and children, from persecution under Taliban rule.
Shawn VanDiver, President of the advocacy group Afghanistan Evac, previously warned that the U.S. government had given some Afghanistani nationals with TPS as little as seven days to leave the country. He revealed that many received formal notices advising them to depart without access to legal consultation raising alarm over due process violations. According to reports, the Trump administration’s decision could affect approximately 14,600 Afghanistani nationals. Human rights experts have warned that such a policy would place thousands of lives at immediate risk, forcing many into a precarious and potentially lethal return.
