U.S media have reported that thousands of Afghans, including hundreds who converted to Christianity after the fall of the Afghan republic in 2021, are now at risk of deportation from the United States—potentially back to a country where they face grave threats under the Taliban regime.
The reports state that nearly 9,000 Afghans legally residing in the U.S. are still awaiting the outcome of their special immigration visa (SIV) applications. Among them are hundreds of Christian converts who fear for their lives if returned to Afghanistan, where the Taliban considers conversion from Islam to be a capital offense.
Human rights groups have raised serious concerns over the deportation of Afghan Christians, warning that forced returns to a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan amount to handing over innocent people to a regime notorious for religious intolerance, brutal crackdowns, and extrajudicial killings.
Earlier reports revealed that Afghans who were evacuated alongside U.S. forces during the withdrawal were served notices to leave the United States within a week, adding to the anxiety and uncertainty gripping the Afghan refugee community.
The situation has drawn sharp criticism from rights advocates, who argue that sending Christian converts and other vulnerable Afghans back to a repressive and extremist-led Afghanistan would be both inhumane and morally indefensible.
