Four years have passed since Hanifa Girowal fled Afghanistan on a US evacuation flight. However, the memories of that chaotic day still linger.
Like many Afghans evacuated amid the August 15 Taliban takeover of Kabul, Girowal remains stuck in “legal limbo” in the United States, pursuing a more stable status amidst shifting politics.
Girowal worked in human rights under the former Afghan government and was forced to flee her home country. She recalls the mad dash at the crowded Kabul International Airport, where people were shot in front of her, and her subsequent journey to the US state of Virginia.
“I somehow feel like I’m still stuck in August 2021 and all the other Augusts in between, I can’t remember anything about them,” Girowal told newsmen, reflecting on the trauma she experienced.
The struggle to begin a new life in the US has been challenging, and the arrival of US President Donald Trump’s administration has heightened her disquiet.
Trump’s hardline immigration policies have touched nearly every immigrant community in the US, underscoring vulnerabilities for those on precarious legal status.
“I have an approved asylum case, which gives a certain level of protection, but we still don’t know the future of certain policies on immigration,” Girowal said. “I am very much fearful that I can be subjected to deportation at any time.” Her concerns are echoed by many Afghans in the US, who are uncertain about their future under the Trump administration.
The Trump administration has taken several concrete moves that affect Afghans living in the US, including ending “temporary protected status” (TPS) for Afghans already in the country at the time of the Taliban takeover.
The administration argues that the country shows “an improved security situation” and “stabilising economy”, a claim contradicted by several human rights reports. At the same time, the Trump administration added Afghanistan to a new travel ban list, restricting visas for Afghans.
These actions underscore that “the situation in Afghanistan seems to be whatever it needs to be, from the Trump administration’s perspective,” according to Adam Bates, a supervisory policy counsel at the International Refugee Assistance Programme.
Bates noted that some pathways, like the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and refugee programmes, provide a clear course towards US residency and citizenship, but others do not.
“A lot of the advocacy to the Biden administration officials was about finding more permanent legal pathways for Afghans,” Bates told newsmen.
“That was with one eye towards the potential of giving the Trump administration this opportunity to really double down and target this community.”
The Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement has increasingly seen those without criminal histories targeted for deportations and permanent residents targeted for their political advocacy.
“It’s just an escalation across the board and a compounding of fear and instability in this community,” Bates said.
“It’s hard to make life decisions if you aren’t sure what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week or in a year”. Meanwhile, for the thousands of Afghans continuing to seek safety in the US from abroad, pathways have been severely constricted or have become completely blocked.
The unstable situation in the US reflects a broader global trend. The Taliban government has continued to be accused of widespread human rights abuses and revenge killings, despite promising reforms in a push for international recognition.
Several governments have upgraded diplomatic ties with the Taliban, and Russia became the first country to formally recognise the group as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
The collective moves send a clear message, evacuee Girowal said: “We know that Afghanistan is no more a priority for the world.”
Still, she has not abandoned hope that the US under Trump’s leadership will “not forget its allies”. “I know the resilience of our own Afghan community. We are trained to be resilient wherever we are and fight back as much as we can,” she said. “That’s one thing that gives me hope.”