“The first six days of war in Iran cost U.S. taxpayers at least $11.3 billion in munitions alone, according to Pentagon estimates reviewed by lawmakers, and experts say the ongoing cost could increase exponentially. That total does not include the cost of operating and maintaining the military force engaged in the war or battle damage sustained from Iran’s attacks.
…
While initial cost estimates of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were around $50 to $60 billion, they ended up costing a combined $8 trillion, according to analysis by Costs of War.”
“While the administration stokes fear about Afghan immigrants, data paint another picture. A 2019 study from the Cato Institute showed that the incarceration rate for Afghans between 18 and 54 was 127 per 100,000, a stark comparison to the 1,477 per 100,000 for native-born Americans.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reported that, according to a 2024 Department of Health and Human Services study, refugees brought a $123.8 billion net fiscal benefit to the U.S. between 2005 and 2019, contributing $581 billion in taxes while receiving $457.1 billion in government support. This combats the Trump administration’s objections based on the net cost of admitting refugees to the U.S.
While refugees’ earnings may be limited on arrival, IRC says they “increase significantly” with time. A median household income of $30,500 in a refugee’s first five years in the U.S. becomes a median income of $71,400 after being here for 20 years. That number exceeds the national median income by nearly $4,000.
IRC also reported that more refugees become entrepreneurs (13 percent) than their U.S.-born counterparts (9 percent), benefitting their communities.
…
The administration is using an isolated act of violence to justify sweeping crackdowns on refugees and wartime allies who were already thoroughly vetted.”
“Trump has halted all asylum decisions and paused visas for Afghan passport holders. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has announced that the government is “actively re-examining” all Afghan nationals who entered the country under President Joseph Biden. CBS reports that the administration is thinking of expanding its travel ban from 19 to 30 countries.
…
New data leaked to and analyzed by David J. Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, show that of the people taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since October 1, 73 percent had no criminal conviction. Nearly half had no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges; about a quarter had no conviction but did have pending charges. Of those with a criminal conviction, the majority had vice, immigration, or traffic violations. Only 5 percent had a violent criminal conviction.
Since January, the number of individuals arrested by ICE without a criminal record or criminal charge has grown by 1,500 percent.
…
Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, nearly 200,000 Afghan nationals have migrated to the U.S. as part of Operation Allies Welcome and its successor, Operation Enduring Welcome—programs designed to resettle Afghans who aided the U.S. during the two-decade Afghanistan War. Another 260,000 Afghans are still waiting to come to the U.S., according to Shawn VanDiver, the president of #AfghanEvac and a proponent of the Afghan refugee programs.
…
Sharif Aly, president of the International Refugee Assistance Project, told the Associated Press that refugees are “already the most highly vetted immigrants in the United States.” Revetting and reinterviewing the hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees peacefully living in the U.S. is not only cruel, Aly argues, but a “tremendous waste of government resources.”
Unfortunately, legal limbo is nothing new for Afghan refugees. Many of them legitimately fear for their lives if they return to Afghanistan after aiding the U.S. Now they face an even more uncertain future.”
A group in Pakistan with ties to the Taliban attacked Pakistan and want to give Pakistani territories to Afghanistan. Afghanistan doesn’t recognize the current border, which was drawn by the British and separates ethnic groups. Afghanistan’s other borders also separate groups, including Persians from Persia.
“He had a valid work permit and a pending asylum claim, but Ihsanullah Garay was still detained. He now faces deportation while battling brain cancer.”
“At the beginning of the war, the Taliban were almost completely routed, and the U.S. military could have left from a position of strength. The new Afghan republic announced that it had an offer from the Taliban to surrender in exchange for amnesty and a chance to participate in politics. But the Bush administration turned down that offer, settling for nothing less than total, unconditional victory.”
“Currently, parole has been revoked for a portion of the 8,100 Afghans who entered the U.S. through the southern border using the Customs and Border Protection’s now defunct One app, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was revoked from around 11,700 Afghans in July. Additionally, Afghans who arrived in the U.S. during Operation Allies Refuge in August 2021 were granted two years of humanitarian parole. Their parole was extended in 2023 but is soon set to expire, which will leave an unknown number of parolees in precarious legal standing.
…
In late 2024, Nasrin, who spoke with me on the condition of anonymity, fled to the U.S. to escape her abusive ex-husband, who sought to marry her daughter to a member of the Taliban after the terrorist group’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. Upon arrival in the U.S., Nasrin, along with her daughter and two of her sons, was placed in ICE detention. Nasrin and her daughter were released, but both of her sons remain in ICE facilities. Nasrin “worries a lot” about the unknown future of her sons.
Former interpreter Mahmud, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, entered the U.S. in 2014 through the SIV program. His brother, Fawad, applied for an SIV through work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and fled to Mexico after his half-brother was murdered. After waiting eight months in Mexico for a CBP One app appointment, Fawad crossed the border in March 2025 and was immediately detained. ICE rejected his claim for asylum and now insists Fawad must be deported to Afghanistan.
Mahmud reports that Fawad has not been granted a credible fear interview and is being moved to different ICE facilities around the country, which makes it difficult for his family to acquire expensive legal representation. Mahmud says Fawad’s depression and other health issues are “getting worse in detention centers.””
“As the U.S. wraps up the congressionally mandated Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) program, uncertainty for allies overseas is on the rise. Some allies who relied on CARE housing for safety while waiting on a yearslong processing queue now face an uncertain future, while multiple endangered U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) applicants have reportedly been deported from Pakistan, where they once sought refuge during case processing.”‘