Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on May 12 announced [9] the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS [10]) for individuals from Afghanistan. Noem stated that the "conditions in Afghanistan" no longer warrant continuing the program, finding that it is "contrary to the national interest." TPS for Afghans was originally introduced [16] by former president Joe Biden in March 2022 to protect [17] the more than 70,000 Afghans who had entered the US as part of the government's "Operation Allies Welcome," after the Taliban's takeover in August 2021. (Jurist [18])
Afghanistan is experiencing a dire human rights crisis [11] under renewed Taliban rule. Human Rights Watch has reported that individuals who have links with the previous Afghan government's security forces (or the US-led force that backed it) face violent reprisals [12] such as extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and torture. The International Criminal Court prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants [19] for Taliban officials accused of crimes against humanity.
Also May 12, nearly 60 white South Africans were admitted into the US as part of President Trump's resettlement program for Afrikaners [13] who say they fear persecution. Trump, who has otherwise virtually shut down [14] the US asylum program, replied to a reporter's question ebout the entry of the South Africans: "It's a genocide that's taking place that you people don't want to write about, but it's a terrible thing that's taking place. And farmers are being killed. They happen to be white, but whether they're white or Black makes no difference to me, but white farmers are being brutally killed, and their land is being confiscated in South Africa."
Bill Frelick, head of the Refugee & Migrants Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, responded to Trump's claims by saying: "Well, this is not actually supported from any of the information that we have seen." (NewsHour [20])
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa called a group of 59 who have moved to the US "cowards" who are unhappy with efforts to address the inequities of the apartheid past, terming their relocation a "sad moment for them." (BBC News [21], PRI [22])
In a statement [23], South Africa's foreign ministry described the resettlement program as "politically motivated" and designed to undermine South Africa's "constitutional democracy." The statement said that allegations of discrimination against the country's white minority are unfounded, and that crime statistics do not indicate that any racial group had been targeted in violent crimes on farms. (BBC News [24])
