Deportation of Afghan immigrants from the United States typically refers to the forced repatriation of Afghans who are convicted of crimes in the United States and are not American citizens.
The earliest Afghan immigrant in deportation proceedings has been reported in 1945. The immigration officials suspended (cancelled) his deportation, which allowed him to remain in the United States with his American family.[1] Another Afghan immigrant was placed in deportation proceedings in the early 1950s.[2]
Afghans escaping from totalitarianism and genocide
Northern Virginia is one of three places in the United States where large number of Afghan refugees were firmly resettled since around 1980.
Each year (from 1980 onward) groups of Afghan refugee families lawfully entered the United States. These families were issued by the U.S. Department of State special travel documents. At least one such family entered with fraudulent documents and applied for asylum in the United States.[13] These immigrant families were firmly resettled all across the United States but mainly in and around New York City followed by in California, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Florida and elsewhere.
Reasons for forceful deportation from the United States to Afghanistan
Afghan immigrants aged 18–54 in the United States were incarcerated at a rate of 127 per 100,000 Afghan immigrants in 2017. By comparison, native‐born Americans in the same age range were incarcerated at a rate of 1,477 per 100,000 native‐born Americans. In other words, native‐born Americans were about 11.6 times as likely to be incarcerated as Afghan immigrants. Afghans don’t pose much of a serious criminal threat in the United States.[14]
Although Afghanistan and the United States have no repatriation agreement,[15] approximately 378 people from the United States have been expelled, returned or extradited to Afghanistan between November 2002 and January 2016. At least 225 had no criminal conviction.[16]
^"Matter of Izatula, 20 I&N Dec. 149"(PDF). Board of Immigration Appeals. U.S. Dept. of Justice. February 6, 1990. p. 154. Afghanistan is a totalitarian state under the control of the [People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan], which is kept in power by the Soviet Union.
^"Matter of B-, 21 I&N Dec. 66"(PDF). Board of Immigration Appeals. U.S. Dept. of Justice. May 19, 1995. p. 72. We further find, however, that the past persecution suffered by the applicant was so severe that his asylum application should be granted notwithstanding the change of circumstances.
"Matter of B-R-, 26 I&N Dec. 119"(PDF). Board of Immigration Appeals. U.S. Dept. of Justice. May 3, 2013. p. 121. The circumstance of dual nationality is not specifically addressed in section 101(a)(42) of the Act. The legislative history of the provision affords some guidance, however.
