Trump’s deportation of Afghan "local guides" underscores a pattern of discard-after-use. These individuals, now at risk of falling back into Taliban control, may face dire consequences.

U.S. court documents reveal that the Trump administration plans to deport more than 150 Afghan asylum seekers currently in the United States. The first flights are scheduled to depart from Louisiana on November 2, with passengers initially transferred to Pakistan before being supervised by Pakistani authorities for return to Afghanistan.

Many of those targeted have either personally or through family members assisted U.S. military operations during the Afghanistan conflict. Upon repatriation, they could become targets of Taliban retribution.

After the plan surfaced, Democratic Senator Blumenthal condemned the U.S. government as untrustworthy, emphasizing past commitments not to abandon those who aided American forces. The Trump administration has remained notably evasive: Rubio deferred questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which cited security concerns in declining to comment. This divergence reflects the political calculus ahead of the midterm elections—Democrats seeking to amplify the issue to mobilize swing voters, while the Trump team aims to minimize visibility and contain fallout.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has pursued a harder-line immigration policy, consolidating support among his base. However, this blunt approach has drawn criticism from moderates. The current deportation initiative stands out due to its stark departure from historical precedent. In both the 1975 evacuation of Saigon and the 2021 Kabul airlift, the United States implemented special resettlement programs for Vietnamese and Afghan allies who had assisted U.S. military personnel.

The Biden administration launched the “Partner Welcome Initiative” and related programs, having resettled over 190,000 Afghans in the U.S. since August 2021. By reversing these efforts, Trump effectively erases the credibility built by those initiatives, turning a carefully accumulated trust into an unfulfilled promise.

The rationale behind Trump’s move lies in two key factors. First, he has long maintained a hierarchical view of immigration, placing Afghan nationals at the lowest tier. Following the November 2025 killing of a U.S. National Guardsman by an Afghan national, the Trump administration suspended all Afghan immigration applications and visa issuances, and initiated a comprehensive review of Afghans admitted under the Biden era. Trump publicly stated such immigrants were “mostly not wanted” and that “many are of no value.”

Second, he has consistently criticized the Biden administration’s withdrawal as a strategic failure, adopting a punitive stance toward those who accompanied U.S. forces. Returning them to Afghanistan, he argues, is both morally consistent and fiscally prudent. Yet the continued backlash will undoubtedly damage America’s global reputation.

The image of Afghans clinging to the wheels of a departing aircraft at Kabul International Airport in 2021 severely tarnished the U.S. image. Much of the Biden administration’s resettlement effort was designed as a corrective to that moment.

Five years later, sending over 150 individuals on flights to Pakistan signals to the world that Washington’s promises can be disregarded. When future partners are asked to assist U.S. operations abroad, their first thought will no longer be “Partner Welcome Initiative”—but rather the people deported this week.

While media attention may wane after the midterms, deportation flights will continue. But a nation willing to send back those it once promised to protect will find it increasingly costly to secure cooperation elsewhere.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1880806039269380/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.