Abdul Quayom Rahimi with his wife, Qudsia Saheb Khan, in Irmo.

COLUMBIA — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on May 12 that it's ending temporary protected status for Afghan immigrants, putting thousands at risk of deportation.

Temporary protected status allows immigrants from countries ravaged by war, natural disasters or other extraordinary circumstances to live and work in the U.S. temporarily. In South Carolina, nearly 6,000 people live in the state under the temporary designation.

But it's unclear how many of them, if any, are from Afghanistan rather than other countries like Ukraine, Haiti and many others.

In 2024, The Post and Courier profiled Abdul Quayom Rahimi , a former Afghan governor who was captured and nearly executed by Taliban soldiers during the terrorist organization's takeover of the country in 2021. He narrowly escaped and ended up in Irmo, where he lives with his wife, two daughters and son.

Rahimi and his family were approved for special immigrant visas, so they won't be impacted by the Administration's decision. There are other Afghans living in Columbia and elsewhere in South Carolina, but most of them either also have special immigrant visas or asylum designations, meaning they too are safe from the administration's decision.

But over 8,000 others elsewhere in the country are at risk of deportation, federal data shows .

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a May 12 statement that conditions in Afghanistan have improved and that returning to Afghanistan no longer posed a threat to immigrants’ personal safety. Rahimi and several refugee advocacy groups have pushed back against that characterization, pointing to the Taliban's oppressive laws against women especially.

"That will be a terrible situation for them," Rahimi said. "If they're women ... there's nothing for them in Afghanistan. They're (treated) like slaves."

Why the change in policy?

The designation was extended to Afghans in 2021 after the Biden administration pulled remaining American troops from the country, and the ensuing takeover of the country by the Taliban.

The removal of the designation aligns with the Trump Administration’s goal of rooting out fraud in the immigration system, according to Noem, who also argued that the country was safe for Afghan nationals.

“DHS records indicate that there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security,” Noem said. “Reviewing TPS designations is a key part of restoring integrity in our immigration system.”

The Administration has considered exempting Christian Afghans from the order, who would likely face persecution from the Taliban.

What Afghans in SC and refugee advocacy groups are saying

Several refugee nonprofits condemned the move and said it will put thousands at risk.

#AfghanEvac, a nonprofit focused on getting vulnerable Afghans who worked with U.S. troops out of the country and supporting those already in the U.S., called the administration’s decision “unconscionable” in a post on X.

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of immigrant resettlement support nonprofit Global Refuge, said that returning Afghans will put them in grave danger.

“Afghanistan today is still reeling from Taliban rule, economic collapse, and humanitarian disaster. Nothing about that reality has changed,” Vignarajah said in a statement. “Terminating protections for Afghans is a morally indefensible betrayal of allies who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us to advance American interests throughout our country’s longest war.”

The 52-year-old former Afghan governor, Rahimi, told The Post and Courier that it's been painful to see the shift in U.S. relations with the Taliban. Rahimi is apart of the Afghanistan United Front , a group of refugees and former political and military leaders who intend to take back the country from the Taliban through political, civil and military means.

"The Taliban want to show this nice face of themselves to the world," Rahimi said. "(It's) a big fat lie that they are promoting. Unfortunately, we here are accepting that lie. The same terrorists who fought us for 21 years, they killed American soldiers. Still there are Americans in Taliban detention center, and it is miserable."