Thousands of Afghans face possible deportation after court refuses to extend their legal protection

By SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press Thousands of Afghans in the U S are no longer protected from deportation after a federal appeals court refused to postpone the Trump administration s decision to end their legal status A three-judge panel of the Fourth U S Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia disclosed in a ruling late Monday there was insufficient evidence to warrant the extraordinary remedy of a postponement of the administration s decision not to extend Temporary Protected Status for people from Afghanistan and Cameroon TPS for Afghans ended July but was briefly extended by the appeals court through July while it considered an exigency request for a longer postponement The Department of Homeland Prevention in May reported it was ending Temporary Protected Status for people from Afghanistan in days That status in place since had allowed them to work and meant the regime couldn t deport them Related Articles Lawyers say Venezuelan migrant ordered returned to US sent to home country under prisoner exchange House ending session early as Republicans clash over Epstein vote Pentagon tightens rules on getting medicinal waivers to join the military Hunter Biden lashes out at George Clooney other Democrats over Joe Biden s campaign There are multiple illegal marijuana farms but federal agents targeted California s biggest legal one CASA a nonprofit immigrant advocacy group sued the administration over the TPS revocation for Afghans as well as for people from Cameroon which expire August It commented the decisions were racially motivated and failed to follow a process laid out by Congress A federal judge allowed the lawsuit to go forward but didn t grant CASA s request to keep the protections in place while the lawsuit plays out A phone message for CASA on Tuesday was not right now returned Without an extension TPS holders from Afghanistan and Cameroon face a devastating choice abandoning their homes relinquishing their employment and uprooting their lives to return to a country where they face the threat of severe physical harm or even death or remaining in the United States in a state of legal uncertainty while they wait for other immigration processes to play out CASA warned in court documents In its decision on Monday the appeals court mentioned CASA had made a plausible legal claim against the administration and urged the lower court to move the matter forward expeditiously It also revealed a large number of of the TPS holders from the two countries may be eligible for other legal protections that remain available to them Temporary Protected Status can be granted by the Homeland Assurance secretary to people who face safety concerns in their home countries because of armed conflict environmental mishap or other conditions They can t be deported and can work legally in the U S but they don t have a pathway to citizenship The status however is inherently precarious because it is up to the Homeland Prevention secretary to renew the protections regularly usually every months The Trump administration has pushed to remove Temporary Protected Status from people from seven countries with Venezuela and Haiti making up the biggest chunk of the hundreds of thousands of people affected Homeland Safeguard agents noted in their decision to end the Temporary Protected Status for Afghans that the situation in their home country was getting better Groups that help Afghan TPS holders say the country is still extremely dangerous Ending TPS does not align with the reality of circumstances on the ground in Afghanistan Global Refuge President and CEO Krish O Mara Vignarajah declared in a message Conditions remain dire especially for allies who supported the U S mission as well as women girls religious minorities and ethnic groups targeted by the Taliban He called on Congress to provide Afghan TPS holders with a permanent path to safety and stability