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Newsweek
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Trump Could Be Sending Afghan Christians To Their Death, Group Warns
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. One of Donald Trump's latest immigration moves could be sending Afghan Christians to die at the hands of the Taliban, an anti-Christian persecution group has warned. Trump's administration took steps to remove protections for thousands of Afghan refugees earlier this month, asking them to self-deport and officially terminating their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) amid an ongoing immigration crackdown. International Christian Concern (ICC), a non-profit that supports Christians facing discrimination for their faith around the world, is worried that this will force Afghan Christians to return to the Taliban, where their lives could be in danger. ICC President Jeff King told Newsweek how, after the Taliban took power in 2021, it "conducted door-to-door searches, checking phones for Christian materials, and offered bounties for the betrayal of Christians so they could be executed or tortured for apostasy." "It's unlikely that President Trump has fully considered the specific plight of these converts, given the broader focus of his administration on vital immigration enforcement and border security priorities," he said. When Newsweek put this warning to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), it was told that "any Afghan who fears persecution is able to request asylum." The Context Afghan nationals were granted TPS, a program that allows people affected by war, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions to live and work in the United States for a limited period, after the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. The Trump administration announced on May 12 that this program would be terminated on July 14 after concluding that "the return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan does not pose a threat to their personal safety." "This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,"DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement at the time. "We've reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation." The Danger Christians Face in Afghanistan Afghanistan is considered by activists to be one of the most dangerous places for Christians. In the ICC's Global Persecution Index, the country is classed in the highest danger category – the Red Zone, "where Christians are regularly tortured or killed for their faith." Open Doors, a different charity that monitors the persecution of Christians around the world, puts Afghanistan at number 10 on its World Watch List. The International Christian Concern's Global Persecution Index showing Afghanistan in the Red Zone"where Christians are regularly tortured or killed for their faith." The International Christian Concern's Global Persecution Index showing Afghanistan in the Red Zone"where Christians are regularly tortured or killed for their faith." International Christian Concern King, who has worked with the ICC to smuggle Christians out of Afghanistan, said, "Afghanistan under Taliban rule is a uniquely hostile environment for believers." "The Taliban's persecution is systematic," he told Newsweek. "They hunt converts through phone surveillance, reward informants, and subject believers to execution, imprisonment or — for women — forced marriage and enslavement. Having facilitated the escape of Christians prior to and during the Taliban's 2021 takeover, I know the risks firsthand. "While I support the administration's commitment to securing our borders, a broad deportation policy endangers many Afghan refugees in the U.S., including hundreds of Christian converts," King added. He believes Trump would "reconsider and adjust his policy if these realities were brought directly to the President." A White House spokesperson told Newsweek: "Any individual who fears persecution from the Taliban is able to apply for asylum to remain in the United States. Temporary Protected Status, by definition, is temporary and committed to the discretion of the DHS Secretary." What Could Trump Do To Protect Afghan Christians? King and the ICC have called for "a 90-day pause on deportations to allow collaboration with Congress and the administration to reinstate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or expedite asylum for those facing religious persecution." The ICC says it "recognizes the need for immigration control and notes that some non-Christians, not at risk, entered the U.S. during efforts to extract persecuted Afghan Christians" but insists that "most of these refugees fled genuine Taliban threats." Donald Trump pictured at at a campaign event at 180 Church, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Detroit. Donald Trump pictured at at a campaign event at 180 Church, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Detroit. AP It wants the administration to "adopt targeted policies" to ensure specific pathways for Afghan Christians – both in the United States and still in Afghanistan. In response, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek: "Although TPS was terminated as required by law, any Afghan who fears persecution is able to request asylum. "All aliens who have had their TPS or parole terminated or are otherwise in the country unlawfully should take advantage of the CBP Home self-deportation process to receive a free one-way plane ticket and $1,000 financial assistance to help them resettled elsewhere."
Fox News
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Fears remain this Easter that Christians in Nigeria are being ‘wiped out' by Muslim extremists
It's going to be a wretched and fearful Easter for Christians in Nigeria. The killing and persecution of Christians by Islamist militants intent on creating a muslim caliphate in this West African country is continuing apparently unchecked despite the population being 46% Christian. "Nigeria's Christians are being wiped out; we need to call it what it is — genocide," Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern (ICC), a persecution watchdog, told Fox News Digital. "Let's start with the horrible attacks on April 2-3, 2025, in (Nigeria's) Plateau State's Bokkos County. Over 60 Christians (were) slaughtered, and 383 homes torched" King said. "Families were burned alive, and kids were left homeless. It's gut-wrenching. The worst thing is that there's nothing truly "special" about this attack. This has gone on for 20 years and has only expanded." King believes Nigeria is a killing field for Christians, and that this isn't random violence. He continued with figures, confirmed by local leaders on the ground in Nigeria. "It's a calculated push from the Fulanis to erase Christians from their homeland, Nigeria's Middle Belt. Since 2001, up to 100,000 Christians have been butchered, and 3.5 million farmers have been kicked off their land by Fulani Islamist terrorists. They roll in with AK-47s, machetes and gasoline, and no one's stopping them. For 20 years, the government has done nothing. "This is a massive land grab disguised as a dispute or tribal spat. What we are witnessing is a massive and long-running stealth jihad." One woman widowed in an attack is reported to have told the ICC, "They want our land, our lives, our Jesus." Just last weekend, the ICC and local sources claim, another 54 Christians were slaughtered after celebrating at a Palm Sunday service in the village of Zikke, near Jos. The attack reportedly went on for a solid hour with no attempt by authorities to stop it. Members of the Christian group Open Doors UK in Nigeria showed Fox News Digital a list of other attacks in Nigeria in the past month. Nigeria ranks seventh on Open Doors' 2025 World Watchlist, an annual index of countries where Christians face the most persecution. "Christians in northern and central Nigeria face extreme violence from Boko Haram, ISWAP, (Islamic State West African Province) and armed Fulani militants who have killed thousands of believers, destroyed hundreds of churches and displaced entire Christian communities," Ryan Brown, CEO of Open Doors US, told Fox News Digital. "The recent attacks in Plateau State represent yet another chapter in this ongoing crisis of religious persecution. "These attacks have devastated communities that were still recovering from the Christmas Eve massacre that killed approximately 200 Christians in the same region in 2023." Families have lost male breadwinners, with women and children often sexually assaulted, Brown added. "Survivors are now living in at least four displacement camps, facing food insecurity and unable to access education or worship safely," Brown added. Bishop Ayuba Matawal has profiled the Islamist killers. Matawal is chairman of the Nigerian Bokkos Internally Displaced People's Welfare Committee. "It appears that some of these extremists have been indoctrinated with an ideology of seizing land from Christian communities, continuing the legacy of Uthman dan Fodio's vision of spreading Islam across Nigeria," he said. "Although their numbers may be small, these extremists have inflicted severe damage on Christian communities." The ICC's King told Fox News Digital he is calling upon the State Department to list Nigeria "as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC)." This is a U.S. government label that means sanctions, pressure and real consequences. King added that he believes the U.S. should "cut off all (financial and military) aid to Nigeria until we start to see a meaningful reduction in attacks, perpetrators arrested and lands restored." While not mentioning the attacks on Christians, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "The United States remains deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in West Africa, including in Nigeria's Middle Belt. We offer our condolences to the victims' families of recent violence in Plateau State. "We also continue to engage with the government of Nigeria at the highest levels to address (the) root causes of violence, and we strongly advocate for the protection of all citizens. "We acknowledge (Nigerian) President Tinubu's commitment to address the causes of the violence and urge the government to take meaningful and decisive steps to prevent further attacks, ensure accountability for perpetrators and foster long-term peace and stability " In Nigeria, Bishop Matawal cautioned that, this Easter weekend, "Christian communities are on high alert, especially during church services and religious gatherings." "Nigerian Christians are carrying their cross every day, yet their hope rises like the resurrection," King said. "Easter is all about life winning over death, and these Christians are living that out. But let's raise a cry and say "we hear you, we are with you, hold on just a bit longer." Fox News Digital reached out to the Nigerian government but did not receive a response.
