Amnesty International condemned efforts by the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghan nationals, warning that no one should be forced to return to Afghanistan under current conditions.
In a statement posted on X, the human rights organization said Afghans under TPS in the United States remain at serious risk of detention and deportation, and that any forced return would amount to a violation of international human rights obligations.
“This is a betrayal of people who sought safety in the United States,” Amnesty said.
The statement comes as a US federal appeals court issued a temporary one-week suspension of the Biden administration’s earlier deadline to remove TPS protections for approximately 12,000 Afghans—a group whose legal status expired on Monday.
The nonprofit immigrant advocacy organization CASA had filed a lawsuit challenging the termination of TPS protections not only for Afghans but also for nationals of Cameroon. A federal judge allowed the case to proceed but declined CASA’s initial request to maintain protections during the legal process.
CASA then filed an emergency appeal, and on Monday, the appeals court granted a temporary injunction, halting deportations while the court reviews the case. The court did not provide detailed reasoning for the decision but indicated it would rule swiftly. Both sides are expected to submit additional legal filings this week.
The US Department of Homeland Security has not publicly commented on the court’s decision.
Meanwhile, the Refugee Advocacy Watch, another rights organization, said it has received video messages from Afghan women stuck in Pakistan for over three years, many of whom hold P-1 and P-2 immigration cases filed with the US government.
“These women and their families, many of them former US allies, remain in grave danger,” the organization said, calling on the Trump administration to immediately resume processing of P-1 and P-2 visa cases for at-risk Afghans.
Human rights groups continue to warn that returning Afghans—particularly women, activists, and those affiliated with Western governments—face systematic repression and persecution under the Taliban regime.
