CLEVELAND, Ohio — Following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump has ordered a thorough reevaluation of all Afghan nationals—including those who served alongside U.S. forces. Critics warn the move could put many lives in danger.
We are not showing his face or name, and we have even distorted his voice for safety reasons. We’re calling him Darwish.
He’s a green card holder, originally from Afghanistan, where he and his brother worked alongside U.S. forces fighting the Taliban in exchange for a promised path to permanent residency. Darwish received his green card earlier, but his brother was still waiting, having been told he needed to continue the process at a different U.S. embassy due to the fall of Kabul.
“They had received the initial approval, and then they had to go to a country like Pakistan to continue the process of the case,” said Darwish.
After more than two years of vetting, Darwish’s brother was scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in February 2025. But his flight was canceled following President Trump’s executive orders halting all new arrivals. He then remained in Pakistan for nearly 11 months.
“We cannot do anything. I've written to my congressman and my senator. Here, I've asked my colleagues in the us military who were with whom I was working in Afghanistan. They have written to their congressman, man and senators, and all of them have replied that they cannot do anything,” said Darwish.
Then, just a few weeks ago, Pakistan stopped renewing Afghan visas. His brother and family were deported back to Afghanistan, where they are now in hiding.
“They are in a very distressful situation. We are so worried, extremely worried about them,” said Darwish.
What devastated him even more was that, after the shooting in Washington, D.C., President Trump announced a rigorous reexamination of all Afghan nationals.
“So now there is zero hope that they would be relocated to the US,” said Darwish.
Joe Cimperman, president of Global Cleveland, says Americans cannot forget their allies—especially the Afghans who helped U.S. troops.
“We have to look at this with a very intense and justice-seeking eye, but we cannot forget the 1000s of people who kept the 1000s of infantrymen and armed soldiers and United States military personnel alive with the help they gave us when we were in Afghanistan,” said Cimperman.
Instead, he believes the focus should be on support.
“We have to take care of the people that went through hell because now they're back and PTSD is real, and the mental torture that people are going through is real, and the trauma that they're living is real,” said Cimperman.
News 5 asked Senator Bernie Moreno whether all Afghan nationals—including those who served with U.S. troops—should undergo reevaluation. He said he believes there were shortcomings in the original vetting process.
“I think it would be our duty to make certain that we go back and make certain that we examine every single person that came in carefully. And I'm sure there are good people in there. There's no doubt in my mind about that, but let's just make sure that we do that, double check it,” said Senator Moreno.
Darwish calls the claim that Afghans were not properly vetted completely false.
“I was helping the FBI and a couple of other agencies, so they were interviewed thoroughly before sending them to the US,” said Darwish.
He believes the government should remember its promise.
“Now the problem is that because of one or a few bad apples, now, everybody, the whole community, has been— is being targeted, and also the ones who have been left behind, they have been deprived of this opportunity to come to a safe place,” said Darwish.
It’s a promise he hopes the U.S. will keep—for himself and for his brother, who now fears retribution from the Taliban.
Nadeen Abusada is a Cuyahoga County and immigration reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Instagram NadeenAbusada or email her at Nadeen.Abusada@wews.com.
