The US Department of Homeland Security on May 12 announced an end to temporary protections for some Afghans living in the United States citing improved security and economic conditions in Afghanistan.
"We've reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS (temporary protected status) designation," Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement.
"Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country," she said.
Noem said the TPS designation for Afghanistan would expire on May 20 and the termination would take effect on July 12.
TPS is designed for foreign citizens who cannot return home because of war, natural disasters, or other "extraordinary" conditions.
The statement said Noem determined that, “overall, there are notable improvements in the security and economic situation such that requiring the return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan does not pose a threat to their personal safety due to ongoing-armed conflict or extraordinary and temporary conditions.”
SEE ALSO: Russia, China, India Vying For Influence In Afghanistan As Taliban Seeks LegitimacyNoem was also quoted in the statement as saying that the termination of TPS is in the national interest of the United States "as DHS records indicate that there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security.”
According to the nonprofit AfghanEvac, some 11,000 Afghans are currently covered by TPS in the United States.
"The decision to terminate TPS for Afghanistan is not rooted in reality -- it's rooted in politics," said Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac.
"Afghanistan remains under the control of the Taliban," VanDiver said in a statement.
"There is no functioning asylum system. There are still assassinations, arbitrary arrests, and ongoing human rights abuses, especially against women and ethnic minorities.
"What the administration has done today is betray people who risked their lives for America, built lives here, and believed in our promises."
Former President Joe Biden extended TPS protections for nationals of several countries in January. President Donald Trump has moved to strip TPS protections from citizens of other countries, including Haiti and Venezuela, as part of a broader crackdown on immigration.