Delivered Back to Death

“Deliver the poor and the needy; rescue them from their…oppressors.” Psalm 82:4 (The Voice)

Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security posted the following announcement on its website:.

“Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem today announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan. The TPS designation for the country expires on May 20, 2025, and the termination will be effective on July 14, 2025.

“After consultation with interagency partners, Secretary Noem determined that conditions in Afghanistan no longer meet the statutory requirements. The Secretary’s decision was based on a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services review of the country conditions and in consultation with the Department of State. The Secretary determined that, overall, there are notable improvements in the security and economic situation such that requiring the return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan does not pose a threat to their personal safety due to ongoing-armed conflict or extraordinary and temporary conditions. She further determined that permitting Afghan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States.”

This DHS decision means that all Afghans who received protection following the US military withdrawal in 2022 will now be required to return to Afghanistan voluntarily or face prison sentences and/or forced deportation. Many of these Afghans had assisted the US military during the war against the Taliban, the same Taliban that now controls the country. And among the 200,000 Afghans losing their protected status are more than 300 Christians who faced harsh persecution under Taliban rule and who were pursuing asylum in the US. Delivering any of these Afghan individuals and families to the Taliban will likely result in imprisonment or even death.

In a letter sent to President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, faith leaders urged the “Administration to act swiftly to protect Afghan Christians from deportation to Afghanistan, where they face grave threats to their safety and their very lives because of their faith.” Opposition to ending the protections is appropriate and necessary. Will the letter make a difference? If the acts of DHS and ICE in the past are any indication, it is not likely.

Psalm 82 reminds the “judges” (ie political leaders) that their role is to “rescue the poor and needy from their oppressors.” The ending of TPS for Afghans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans is inconsistent with our faith and our values. Silence isn’t an option.

Today, my Congresswoman, Delia Ramirez (IL – District 03) will not be silent as she repeats her call* for the resignation of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ” for the unconstitutional, illegal weaponization of DHS to pursue a campaign of persecution, mass incarceration, and deportation. Now she can include the reckless and immoral rescinding of Afghani Temporary Protected Status to the list.

* Ramirez first called for Noem’s resignation on April 8 in a press conference after witnessing children being processed by immigration officials at the southern border without legal representation.