The Trump administration has issued a directive requiring Afghan refugees who arrived in the US following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 to leave the country within seven days or face deportation -- a move critics warn could prove fatal for many families.

According to Newsweek, the US Department of Homeland Security sent notices to Afghan refugees residing in North Carolina, instructing them to depart within a week or risk legal consequences and forced removal.

During his campaign for re-election, Donald Trump vowed to adopt a stricter immigration policy, particularly targeting individuals with criminal backgrounds rather than those who had supported U.S. efforts abroad.

After the U.S. military's 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans who had assisted American forces—by serving as interpreters, gathering intelligence, or building relations with local communities—were admitted into the U.S. through humanitarian parole, Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), or Temporary Protected Status (TPS). These individuals had been promised resettlement in the U.S. in return for their service, given the high likelihood of Taliban retaliation if they remained in Afghanistan.

Now, under the new administration’s policy direction, the Trump White House is working to rescind TPS protections for thousands of Afghan nationals, potentially forcing them to return to Taliban-controlled territory.

One anonymous Afghan refugee told WRAL, a local broadcaster: “If we go back to Afghanistan, we are not safe. It is like we are signing the suicide mission for ourselves.”

From August 2021 to August 2024, nearly 150,000 Afghan nationals were resettled in the U.S., including many families, according to U.S. congressional records. Human rights advocates and policy experts have condemned the proposed deportations as cruel and short-sighted, warning that such actions could damage America's credibility and hinder its ability to recruit local allies in future international operations.