🚨 URGENT 🚨 Monday Morning Update -- December 21, 2025
ICE appears to be planning detentions for Christmas and New Years Day, Travel Ban 3.0, SIV application deadline clarifications
Last week, the Trump Administration rolled out Travel Ban 3.0, yet another shameful politicization of the tragic shooting of two National Guardsmen in D.C. last month, and a drastic crackdown on legal immigration that makes the U.S. weaker on the global stage. There’s also an important clarification we need to publicize regarding the SIV program as the application deadline looms at the end of this year. We’ll get into the details on both below.
We’re asking our supporters to speak out against this expansion of the Travel Ban, especially in support of our Afghan allies. We’ll be working to push back on this policy, and your support can make a difference.
New and deeply troubling: ICE is scheduling “check-ins” for Afghan allies on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, raising serious concerns about holiday detentions designed to limit access to legal counsel and oversight. If you or someone you know is impacted by this, please let us know.
What you can do this week
Read and share this post from our friends at the Bush Institute.
Share this video of us calling attention to the plan to detain Afghans on Christmas and / New Years Days.
Donate to AfghanEvac
SIV Program Deadlines
The deadline to submit an SIV application is December 31, 2025 – nine days from today. The decision to close down the program to new applications was made last year, although the government did not widely publicize the deadline. What this means is that in order to ever be considered for a Special Immigrant Visa, individuals must submit their application by the end of this year – but there is some important nuance that applicants and advocates must understand.
Applications must be submitted to the National Visa Center (NVC) by 11:59 PM ET on December 31, 2025.
All required documents DO NOT need to be attached at that time, although that is preferable.
Applicants will receive a confirmation email upon submission notifying them that they have 120 days to complete the application with all required documentation. If the application is not completed within those 120 days, it will be closed.
The critical piece here is that applicants can still submit their application even if they do not have all the required documentation by December 31 of this year. They will have 120 days to submit those documents.
ICE Scheduling “Check-Ins” on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
We need to flag a deeply troubling development that surfaced over the weekend.
Afghan allies have received Department of Homeland Security / ICE “call-in letters” instructing them to report to ICE offices on December 25, Christmas Day, and January 1, New Year’s Day, for “scheduled report check-ins,” and to bring identity documents and immigration paperwork. The timing and substance of these notices raise serious concerns that ICE is using federal and religious holidays to detain Afghans when access to legal counsel, courts, and advocates is at its lowest.
This is not routine administrative scheduling.
Afghan parolees and evacuees remain in legal limbo because Congress and successive administrations have failed to provide durable legal status, not because they have violated the law. Scheduling enforcement actions on major holidays—when families are together, legal support is limited, and oversight is diminished—creates a coercive and intimidating environment that no one should accept as normal.
At best, this reflects reckless indifference to due process and humanitarian considerations. At worst, it reflects a deliberate effort to avoid scrutiny.
Either way, it is unacceptable, and we are escalating this immediately with congressional offices and administration officials.
If you or someone you work with has received an ICE “call-in letter” scheduling a check-in between now and January 1, including on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day, we are asking you to share that information with us through this form.
Submitting information does not guarantee legal intervention or a specific outcome, but it will help us understand the scope of the issue and identify where legal support may be needed during a period when access to counsel is limited.
Call to Action for Immigration Attorneys
We are urgently asking immigration attorneys and legal organizations to be on call through the holidays, including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, in the event ICE proceeds with detentions or attempts to pressure Afghan allies into compliance without meaningful access to counsel.
If you are able to assist—or can connect us with attorneys who can—please step forward now. Real-time legal intervention may prevent irreversible harm.
Afghan allies should not have to spend Christmas or New Year’s Day wondering whether doing the right thing will land them in detention. We owe them vigilance, urgency, and backup when the system fails them.
Travel Ban 3.0
Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10998 expands the travel ban enacted through PP 10949, adding new countries to list and further restricting travel from countries already included in the earlier ban. In all, 39 countries around the world are included in the ban in some form. Important to our cause is a new restriction impacting Afghan SIV holders: buried in the text is a change which removes the categorical exemption for Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders and immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, who were previously exempt from the ban.
For SIV applicants, their immigration pathways were earned through their direct service to the U.S. mission, so to pull the rug out from under them is particularly cruel and yet another example of the long list of broken promises from the U.S. government to our wartime allies.
For the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, who have long been prioritized for visas, this change will result in more families separated for longer, a deliberate cruelty that causes immediate harm to thousands of people.
Our national security is always of the utmost importance, but Afghan immigrants are among the most highly vetted individuals in our nation’s history – and this travel ban is simply a cudgel being used to punish allies and vulnerable people all over the world. This proclamation undermines our credibility with our allies and future wartime partners and should be immediately reversed.
Also important to understand is that the new ban goes into effect on January 1, 2026, however that is NOT an expiration date for visas that were already issued. If you have a valid U.S. visa in your passport, it will still be good – but we encourage anyone in that situation to get to the U.S. as quickly as possible.
Guidance for Afghan Allies Interacting With ICE (also available on our website)
General information, not legal advice
If you are contacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or asked to attend a check-in, the following guidance may help you protect yourself and avoid unnecessary harm.
Do
Do take ICE notices seriously.
Do not ignore a letter, phone call, or check-in notice from ICE. Missing a required appearance can create additional problems.
Do bring the documents listed in your notice.
This may include identification, parole documents, or immigration paperwork. Bring only what is requested.
Do ask to speak with a lawyer before signing anything.
You have the right to consult with an attorney. You can say, “I want to speak with a lawyer before I answer questions or sign documents.”
Do remain calm and respectful.
Even if the situation feels intimidating, staying calm helps protect you and avoids escalation.
Do share your notice with AfghanEvac if asked.
Submitting information through our form does not guarantee an outcome, but it helps identify where legal support may be needed, especially during holidays.
Do contact a qualified immigration attorney if you have one.
If you already work with a lawyer or legal organization, notify them immediately of any ICE contact.
Don’t
Don’t sign documents you do not understand.
Do not sign anything unless you understand it fully and have had the chance to ask questions or consult a lawyer.
Don’t volunteer extra information.
Answer questions truthfully, but do not offer information that is not directly asked.
Don’t bring additional people unless instructed to do so.
Only bring family members or others if the notice explicitly requires it.
Don’t assume a “check-in” is routine.
While some check-ins are administrative, others can lead to detention. Take every notice seriously and prepare accordingly.
Don’t rely on rumors or social media advice.
Immigration situations are highly individual. What happened to someone else may not apply to you.
Important Note
This information is general guidance only and is not legal advice. Immigration law is complex, and outcomes depend on individual circumstances. If you believe you may be at risk of detention, seek legal help immediately.
Congressional Action
Representatives Jason Crow, Scott Peters, Doris Matsui, Seth Moulton, and Derek Tran led a letter in Congress last week calling on the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to rescind recent policies impacting our wartime allies.
IRAP Explainers
For Afghans and their families navigating these rapidly changing immigration policies, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) provides a set of free, publicly accessible legal resources that can help you understand current rules, options, and impacts of recent policy changes.
How Recent U.S. Immigration Changes Affect Afghans – A guide explaining impacts of paused visa and application processing, including how government guidance allowing country of origin as a negative discretionary factor may affect applications such as asylum, green cards, parole, and family reunification.
You may also be interested in other explainers about recent policy changes. You can find those here.
You can share these IRAP links with attorneys, families, or community partners as helpful background — though they do not replace individualized legal advice.
In the Press
Trump expands travel ban and restrictions to include an additional 20 countries – AP
Republicans are divided on Afghan immigrant policy after the National Guard shooting – NPR
These Afghan refugees helped U.S. forces. Trump’s latest crackdown could leave them homeless – San Antonio Express
Trump Expands Travel Ban to 39 Countries after National Guard Shooting – Washington Post
American individualism, but only for some Americans – Roll Call
Local leaders voice concerns over Afghans facing threats to safety amid new restrictions in wake of D.C. National Guard shooting – East County Magazine
US Revokes Entry for Afghan Special Visa Holders – Atlas Press
Afghan SIV Holders Included in Trump Travel Ban, Refugee Group Says – Khaama Press
Following Tragic D.C. Shooting, Afghan Allies Face a New Wave of Enforcement and Fear – Ms. Magazine
We know this is a lot, especially at the end of the year, and especially for Afghan families already living with uncertainty. The policies and actions outlined above are not abstract—they have real, immediate consequences for people who stood with the United States and believed our promises.
AfghanEvac will continue to document what is happening, elevate it with Congress and the administration, and work with legal partners to mitigate harm wherever possible.
Your engagement, your willingness to speak out, and your support make that work possible.
We are not backing down, and we are not leaving our allies to face this alone.
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