US orders Afghan allies to report for immigration checks on Christmas and New Year

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has summoned Afghan residents living in the US to present their documents during the holiday season.

According to copies of letters sent to various individuals and seen by Bloomberg, ICE is requesting appointments for a “scheduled reporting check.” One of these appointments is set for Christmas Day, and another for New Year’s Day. Other notices scheduled check-in appointments for the holiday period on December 27 and December 30.

The immigration agency has previously detained immigrants who arrived at its offices in response to such official requests, including those attending green card interviews. The recipients of these letters had previously gained legal protection and were considered “Afghan allies” under a program launched by former President Joe Biden to protect those who fled to the US after the American military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover of the war-torn country in August 2021.

Shawn VanDiver, founder of AfghanEvac, a group supporting Afghans who aided US invasion efforts, issued a statement criticizing the summonses and their timing. “ICE is using federal and religious holidays, when access to legal counsel, courts, and lawyers is at its lowest, to detain Afghans. This is not routine administrative planning,” he said.

However, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson described these calls as a “routine” and “long-standing” practice, without providing specific details on the number of letters sent.

The spokesperson added that ICE continues its standard operations even on holidays.

Christmas and New Year are federal holidays during which most government offices are closed.

These summonses follow significant changes made by President Donald Trump to US immigration policy targeting Afghans. These changes come in the wake of the November shooting of two National Guard soldiers by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan citizen who worked with US forces and the CIA in Afghanistan before arriving in the US in 2021.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that Lakanwal, who is charged with murder, arrived in the US under the Biden administration’s program known as Operation Allies Welcome.

Following the November shooting, the Trump administration announced it would re-review the files of all refugees resettled under the Biden administration and plans to freeze green card applications.

The administration also announced it would consider a country’s inclusion in the president’s broad travel ban as a “significant adverse factor” in immigration proceedings.

In another blow to Afghans, the administration’s refugee quota for fiscal year 2026 was reduced from 125,000 to 7,500. The presidential order stated it would favor white South Africans and did not specifically mention Afghans.

The administration has also expanded the entry ban list from 19 countries to more than 30. Simultaneously, it removed an exemption for Afghan citizens holding Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) who served the US government or military in Afghanistan. Afghan citizens were already on the entry ban list prior to this expansion.

Earlier this year, the State Department closed the office that assisted in the resettlement of Afghan refugees who helped American war efforts.

An attempt in Congress to force the administration to resume those operations failed to make it into the defense policy bill that Trump signed this month.