Afghan nationals 'extremely worried' Trump might deport them after DC shooting: Report
BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON: Afghans living in different states of the US are feeling fearful and uncertain after President Donald Trump ordered a “full-scale, rigorous reexamination” of Green Card holders from 19 “countries of concern,” including Afghanistan.
In a recent report, MS NOW's David Noriega mentioned that a lot of them are "extremely worried" that President Donald Trump may expel them from the country.
Trump's order stems from Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, being identified as the suspect in the shooting of two members of the National Guard in Washington, DC, which has led to a security response from the administration at the national level.
Afghans fear the Trump administration might 'preemptively terminate' asylum proceedings
David Noriega presented the information in a segment of ‘The Weekend: Primetime’ that was aired on Saturday, November 29, from Bellingham, Washington, where Rahmanullah Lakanwal was residing before the attack.
According to him, the “small community” of Afghans in the region is very scared after the Trump administration stopped “all immigration requests” from Afghanistan as a result of the attack; thus, the people in the asylum process are afraid that they will be arrested or deported.
“The concern is that for Afghan nationals specifically, the administration could go further,” Noriega said.
“They could actually preemptively terminate these asylum proceedings, which would render these people extremely vulnerable to detention and deportation, likely to third countries, because deportation flights don’t happen at this moment directly to Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Those third countries could, in turn, theoretically, deport them to Afghanistan,” he added.
Afghans returning home would be ‘target’ for Taliban, says David Noriega
David Noriega mentioned that the Taliban would put a “target” on the back of those Afghans if they returned home because many worked with the US government.
He also talked with Gabriel Harrison, a local law attorney based in Washington. Harrison described the situation as being very grave.
Harrison said those Afghans would “definitely” face “torture” and “death” if they were sent back.
Trump has vowed DC shooter will 'pay a very steep price'
The two victims in the DC attack have been identified as 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe. While Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries on Thursday, Wolfe is still fighting for his life.
“She was savagely attacked. She’s dead. She’s not with us,” Trump said during a Thanksgiving call. “[Beckstrom was] outstanding in every single way, in every department. Just horrible.”
Trump, on Wednesday night, vowed the “animal” who shot the two troops will “pay a very steep price.” His administration, the next morning, halted “all immigration requests” from Afghanistan.
Lakanwal came to the US under Biden’s "Operation Allies Welcome," which resettled around 85,000 Afghans after the American troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
