U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called on Afghans living in the United States to present their documents during the holiday season, marking the latest move by Donald Trump’s administration to crack down on migrants from the Asian country. ICE schedules appointments for a “scheduled report check” – one on Christmas Day and another on New Year’s Day. Further notifications were planned for December 27 and 30.
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Migrants who responded to these formal summons reported being arrested when they appeared at ICE offices, including people who were participating in interviews related to obtaining a green card. The recipients of the letters already had legal protection and had been classified as “Afghan allies” in a program created by former President Joe Biden, in August 2021, in an effort to protect those who fled to the United States after the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s resumption of power.
“ICE is taking advantage of federal and religious holidays to detain Afghans while access to lawyers, courts and defenders is at an all-time low,” Shawn VanDiver, founder of the nonprofit group AfghanEvac, which supports Afghans who have contributed to U.S. war efforts, said in a statement. “This is not routine administrative programming.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, however, called the subpoenas “routine” and “long-standing,” without specifying how many notices have been sent. According to him, ICE maintains regular operations even during the holidays. Christmas and New Years are federal holidays during which most government offices remain closed.
The recalls come after significant changes to U.S. immigration policy under the Donald Trump administration. The last of these occurred in November, after the attack that killed two National Guard soldiers by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan citizen who worked with U.S. forces and the CIA in Afghanistan before arriving in the United States in 2021. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Lakanwal, accused of murder, came to the United States through the program known as Operation Allies Welcome.
The administration has since announced that it will re-evaluate the cases of all refugees resettled under the Biden administration and suspend review of their green card applications. He also began considering, among “significant negative factors,” the inclusion of the country of origin in a broad travel ban imposed by the president.
In another blow for Afghans, the maximum number of refugees set by the government for the 2026 financial year was reduced from 125,000 to 7,500. The presidential decision said it would favor white South Africans and did not mention Afghans.
The administration also removed an exemption for Afghan citizens on special immigration visas — which it offers to those who served the government or U.S. military in Afghanistan — expanding its no-entry list to citizens of more than 30 countries, up from 19. Afghan citizens were already on the entry ban list before enlargement.
Earlier this year, the State Department closed the office that helped resettle Afghan refugees who contributed to the war effort. Efforts on Capitol Hill to force the government to restart operations failed to make it into the defense policy bill signed by Trump this month.
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