World Relief Laments Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghans 

Contact: wr@pinkston.co

(Baltimore, MD) April 11, 2025 – Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security indicated that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Afghans, putting them at risk of deportation beginning next month. World Relief, which has partnered with local churches to welcome thousands of Afghans since the fall of Kabul in 2021, laments this unjust decision and urges the administration to reconsider.

“The Afghans at risk of deportation to the Taliban when TPS is withdrawn include allies of the U.S. military, religious and ethnic minorities, and women and girls who are likely to face persecution and oppression by the Taliban. The American people — including many, many evangelical Christians — mobilized enthusiastically to welcome Afghans after the chaotic evacuation in 2021, and we pray they’ll mobilize now to advocate for Afghans put at risk by this policy change,” said Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief.  

The administration also announced the termination of TPS for individuals from Cameroon, an African nation facing ongoing conflict, and in February announced the termination of TPS for certain Haitians and Venezuelans, though those actions have faced judicial challenges. 

The administration also recently announced the revocation of parole — a distinct temporary legal protection — for individuals from Venezuela, Haiti and several other countries — but not, so far, for Afghans or Ukrainians who came via the Uniting for Ukraine sponsorship process. Today’s action also should not directly impact those who entered the United States as refugees or who have been granted asylum or Special Immigrant Visas (SIV).

The administration also this week announced the termination of parole for many other individuals allowed to lawfully enter the United States at a port of entry after making an appointment on the CBP One app. More than one million people who entered the country lawfully and who have always been present lawfully in the United States now face the threat of deportation to countries facing severe humanitarian crises. 

World Relief urges Congress to act quickly to reintroduce and pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, which had broad bipartisan support in the past Congress and the support of a broad range of faith groups, national security experts and veterans organizations — but which never received a vote. A January poll by Lifeway Research found that 74% of evangelical Christians support the provisions of the Afghan Adjustment Act. We have also joined other evangelical organizations in urging Congress to find solutions for other populations with temporary legal protections who now face threats of deportation. 

At present, the administration is asking Congress for $45 billion over two years to dramatically expand immigrant detention, which accounts for roughly a six-fold increase in annual detention spending. Such funding would massively expand the scale of deportation — including for these Afghans who are currently lawfully present, many of whom were flown to the United States at taxpayer expense, but who will become unlawfully present as these temporary protections are withdrawn.

“Congress should appropriate enough money to ensure secure borders and to deport immigrants who have been convicted of violent crimes — but not many times more than what’s needed to accomplish those goals,” said Myal Greene, president & CEO of World Relief. “They should not give a blank check to this or any administration to carry out mass detention and deportations that would separate families on a massive scale, would decimate the American church and would send vulnerable people who have not broken any law into horrifying humanitarian crises. And if they are going to do so, they shouldn’t do so in the name of Christianity, because those are not consistent with the values of Jesus.”

World Relief encourages any individuals concerned with the impacts of these or other executive actions on themselves or their families to consult with an immigration attorney or a non-profit organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice to provide legal assistance on immigration matters, including many World Relief offices and local churches affiliated with World Relief.