It is a bad time for thousands of Afghans who risked their lives helping the U.S. over the past two decades.

On June 2, it was announced that the office that helps with relocation of Afghans who helped America will close on July 1.

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security formally ended Temporary Protected Status for roughly 10,000 Afghans who fled their country after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Under the new directive, Afghan nationals currently residing in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status have just under six weeks to leave, setting a deadline of July 14. Most of these Afghans are waiting for the backlog to clear to get the Special Immigrant Visa that was promised to them because of the help they provided the U.S. since its 2001 invasion.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that “Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.” Yet, only days later, the State Department included Afghan citizens on a new “travel ban” list due to deteriorating security situation and threat of terrorism from that country, contradicting what Noem and her department had claimed.

Anyone paying attention to Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return knows that it is not safe. The country

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