Afghan Immigrants Barely Represented in the US Immigration Enforcement System
The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the sudden fall of the Afghan government to Taliban forces have renewed public debate about the role of the U.S. immigration system in allowing Afghan nationals to come to the United States and how the immigration system should handle deportation cases for Afghan immigrants.
Overall, Afghan immigrants make up a very small number in the U.S. immigration enforcement system. The following data on Afghans in the U.S. immigration system include immigration court data updated through the end of July 2021 as well as data from ICE.
In FY 2021 so far, the Department of Homeland Security started new deportation cases against 64 Afghan people in the United States. (Data here.)
26 of the new deportation cases are shown to be against minors under the age of 18. (Data here.)
In FY 2021 so far, just 15 Afghans have had asylum cases decided in the United States. Of these, 9 were denied asylum and 6 received asylum or another form of legal protection. (Data here.)
Just 1 person from Afghanistan was identified in the approximately 70,000 Migrant Protection Protocol cases. (Data here.)
From 2003 to June 2020, just 508 Afghan citizens were recorded as being deported from the United States. In FY 2019, the last full year of data, 35 Afghan citizens were deported. (Data here.)
Between 2006 and June 2020, the last year for which TRAC has full data, Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued detainers against a total of 814 Afghan immigrants, including 66 in FY 2019. Alameda County jail in San Francisco received the largest fraction of detainers, 122 over the 14 year period. (Data here.)
With increased attention and controversy over political instability in Afghanistan, now is a good time to take a sober look at how many Afghan immigrants get caught up in the U.S. immigration enforcement system. Overall, very few people from Afghanistan are arrested, detained, and deported from the United States, far less than 100 each year in virtually any category. This could be due to the low numbers of Afghan immigrants in the country overall or due to low rates of immigration violations.
Either way, as the country grapples with if and how to provide refuge for Afghan people seeking safety, the public would benefit from understanding that Afghan residents make up an objectively small fraction of people in the U.S. immigration enforcement system.