Members of a North Carolina church are urging the Trump administration not to deport nearly two dozen Christian refugees from Afghanistan.
Julie Tisdale, a seminary student who attends Church of the Apostles in Raleigh, is among those advocating for the Afghan Christians who received emails instructing them to leave the country by a deadline that passed about a week ago.
In an interview with The Christian Post, Tisdale stated, “We’ve been advocating with members of Congress and senators. We’ve had some conversations with the staff who work on immigration issues in those offices. So in terms of advocacy, I would say that’s been the big thing as well as some media stuff.”
In a recent op-ed published by CP, Tisdale expressed her concern that Afghan Christians attending her church had been given notices to exit the country within seven days. These refugees arrived in the U.S. following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, a situation that allowed the Taliban to regain control and put Christians at severe risk of persecution and torture.
Tisdale explained that all individuals in question “were deemed to face such a credible fear and were granted documented, legal status to be in the country, to obtain work permits, to get driver licenses, to rent apartments — to do all the normal things they need to do to be self-supporting.”
She stated, “Their journeys to the United States were harrowing, long and complicated, but they all entered the U.S. legally. That is not actually an easy thing to do. Immigration authorities interview individuals to assess whether they face a credible fear of persecution and torture in their home countries.”
Tisdale described her advocacy efforts as “trying to just spread the word and make sure that a broad base of people is aware of what’s going on.”
Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the Taliban takeover, many Afghan Christians, along with those who aided U.S. military efforts, have resettled in the U.S. However, earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it would not renew Temporary Protected Status for thousands of Afghans, possibly initiating deportations as early as May.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection acknowledged that “CBP has issued notices terminating parole for individuals who do not have lawful status to remain.” The agency clarified that “this process is not limited to CBP One users and does not currently apply to those paroled under programs such as [Uniting for Ukraine] and [Operation Allies Welcome].” Operation Allies Welcome, launched in 2021, focuses on vulnerable Afghans who have resettled in the U.S.
Expressing her deep concern, Tisdale stated that if deported, the refugees would face torture and death, emphasizing, “And they know that’s certain because they have already experienced torture for no crime other than conversion.” She warned, “They suffered all sorts of torture while in prison, and so having endured that once, were they to be returned, there is no way that the Taliban would allow them to survive. It would not be a quick death. It will be significant torture, and they will die.”
Afghanistan is ranked as the 10th worst country for Christian persecution, according to Open Doors International’s World Watch List. The organization notes that most Christians in Afghanistan are converts from Islam, making the public practice of their faith almost impossible.
