Without Temporary Protected Status, What's Next for Bay Area Afghan Refugee Community?

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Trump administration has announced plans to end temporary protected status for people from countries including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Venezuela, and Ukraine as part of a broader strategy to limit immigration. The administration also put a halt on refugee resettlement programs, but made an exception for white South Africans who officials said were facing persecution in their home country. Critics have denounced Trump’s decision to welcome South Africans while leaving close to 8,000 Afghans, many of whom assisted the United States during the war there, vulnerable to deportation and death if they return home. We talk about our nation’s immigration policies and what it means for the Bay Area’s Afghan community. Guests: Ximena Bustillo, politics reporter, NPR; formerly food and agriculture policy reporter at Politico covering immigration, labor and equity issues Pedro Noguera, dean and professor, University of Southern California Rossier School of Education; he was student body president of UC Berkeley in 1985 and one of the leaders of the anti-apartheid movement Joseph Azam, Board chair, Afghan-American Foundation - non-partisan non-profit focused on advocating on behalf of Afghan American community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:28.3	Support for Forum comes from Broadway SF, presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story.
0:35.7	From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes the story of
0:40.0	Leo and Lucille Frank, a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia. When Leo is
0:46.9	accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice,
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0:55.8	The riveting and gloriously hopeful parade plays the Orpheum Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th.
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1:09.0	From KQED.
1:25.5	Music From KQED. From KQED. From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
1:28.9	The road to become a legal immigrant to the United States is long and complex, even for those with family ties here or refugees in danger in their home
1:35.2	countries or people who worked for the U.S. military. The Trump administration is making big
1:41.3	changes to the system, including canceling programs that have helped Afghans and Ukrainians while making exceptions for white South Africans.
1:50.8	We talk about the ideas undergirding the current American immigration policy.
1:56.0	That's all coming up next right after this news.
2:15.4	Alexis Madrigal here.
2:18.4	We've got a little pledge break going right now, so you get a bonus on the pledge-free stream podcast or on our replay at night. Write these little meditations on the bay
2:23.5	and we call the series one good thing. A few weeks ago, I went out to the Bayview with my oldest kid to
2:28.6	plant new street trees. When we arrived, we were surprised to find a huge group there to volunteer like us, and though
	...

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