World Relief Urges U.S. to Honor Unfulfilled Debt to Afghan Allies Five Years After U.S. Withdrawal from Kabul

Global evangelical humanitarian organization and refugee resettlement agency calls on Congress to pass permanent solutions for Afghans in limbo

Contact: Lauren Rasmussen, media@wr.org, 802.310.4255

BALTIMORE, Md. – In the aftermath of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan after nearly twenty years of engagement, tens of thousands of Afghan mission partners – translators, drivers, analysts, pilots, judges and many others – were thrust into grave danger due to their association with the United States and, at times, for their faith. While in the initial days, veterans, advocates and volunteers, including hundreds of evangelical churches, were at the forefront of a coordinated, multi-agency, public-private response to evacuate as many as possible, five years later, many thousands of Afghan allies remain vulnerable, within the U.S. and overseas. Today, World Relief calls on Congress to resume the unfinished mission, beginning by ensuring Afghans residing in the U.S. have stable residency by restoring Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghan allies by passing the Afghanistan TPS Act and by ensuring Afghans waiting abroad in third countries are among those included in the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program in Fiscal Year 2027.

TPS was one of several mechanisms engaged to provide a lifeline to Afghan allies in the immediate aftermath of the U.S.’s withdrawal. While inherently temporary in nature, it ensured safety many Afghans in the U.S. while more permanent solutions were worked out. However, in July 2025, TPS was terminated for an estimated nearly 12,000 Afghans, despite strong pushback from many evangelical leaders from groups like the National Association of Evangelicals, Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and others, who feared for many Afghans whose Christian faith would make them targets if returned to Afghanistan, not to mention their association with the U.S. military. This termination renders them vulnerable to detention and deportation to a country where their associations would endanger them. This means that the work to ensure our allies’ long-term safety is not finished.

“As Christians and as Americans, we should be deeply troubled that arriving in the U.S. has not meant permanent safety for many Afghan allies,” commented Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief. “In the days following the fall of Kabul, we witnessed beauty amidst tragedy in the outpouring of support from churches across the country, stepping up to welcome men, women and children rendered vulnerable because of their association with the U.S. and sometimes their faith. It’s a travesty that we have not been able to offer them stability, and it’s time to legislate permanent solutions that mean they do not need to live their lives in fear.”

In addition to the termination of TPS, refugee resettlement for eligible Afghans has also effectively dried up in FY2026. Designated for the first time in the history of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for only one country of origin, all others around the world with a credible fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership with a particular group have been cut off from potentially finding safety in the U.S. Among all groups facing displacement, Afghans continue to face one of the most acute needs for resettlement.

“Though the world has largely moved on, five years later, we must remember our Afghan allies who have not had that luxury,” commented Hannah Daniel, director of government relations at World Relief. “We must again shoulder the mission to honor our commitments to them. We owe it not just to our Afghan allies, but also to the members of the U.S. military, whose ability to build trust with future partners will be materially damaged by our government’s failure to honor its promises to past partners. Further, as Christians to whom promises matter and to whom hospitality is integral to our calling, we cannot and should not rest until our Afghan allies’ permanent safety is secured.”

World Relief encourages churches and advocates to reach out to their members of Congress by visiting worldrelief.org/advocate/protect-afghan-allies.