The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today warned of increasing ICE detentions of Afghan community members in the Bay Area and condemned the Trump administration’s sweeping freeze on immigration-related processing for Afghan nationals as discriminatory “collective punishment” that puts tens of thousands of families at risk. CAIR’s attorneys and partner organizations across Northern California are reporting that at minimum one dozen individuals have been detained this week thus far.
The Bay Area is home to an estimated 60,000 Afghan residents—one of the largest Afghan communities in the United States. Many are refugees, Special Immigrant Visa holders, green card holders, and family members of those who assisted U.S. missions during two decades of war in Afghanistan.
Federal agencies recently announced a series of broad immigration restrictions, including pausing all visa issuance and immigration requests for Afghan nationals indefinitely “pending further review of security and vetting protocols” and halting all asylum application decisions for Afghans. On December 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services went further, issuing Policy Memorandum PM-602-0192, which places a hold on all pending asylum applications, regardless of nationality; halts all pending immigration applications for nationals of 19 countries listed in the administration’s expanded travel ban; and orders a comprehensive re-review of already approved benefit requests for nationals of those same 19 countries who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021.
CAIR-SFBA has seen an increase in calls from Afghan families whose loved ones are suddenly facing ICE contact, unscheduled check-ins, and new threats to their immigration status in recent days, adding to fear and uncertainty in a community already living with the trauma of war, displacement, and family separation.
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Immigrants’ Rights Managing Attorney David Tarr said:
“Over the past week, our office has seen a clear uptick in calls from Afghan community members who suddenly face new threats to their status and safety. Today, I accompanied an Afghan evacuee to what ICE represented as a scheduled check-in in San Jose; despite his full cooperation, he was detained on the spot. We are hearing from green card holders who have lived here lawfully for years, from refugees who have already passed extensive vetting, and from families who have been waiting—sometimes for years—to reunite with loved ones now trapped in processing limbo.
“None of this makes us safer. Detaining Afghans who have already been fully vetted and freezing every path forward for those here and still overseas does nothing to enhance public safety; it simply tears families apart and retraumatizes people who trusted the United States at great personal risk.
“From a legal standpoint, this kind of blanket, nationality-based response to the alleged crime of one person raises serious due process and equal protection concerns. We are closely monitoring these developments and are prepared to challenge discriminatory enforcement and processing policies that target Afghan nationals and other communities of color.”
The visa and processing freeze, combined with increased enforcement, means that:
- Families who have waited years to reunite with loved ones now have no timeline for when—or if—they will see them again.
- Green card holders who have lived in the United States legally for years fear sudden disruption to their status or increased scrutiny at ICE check-ins and ports of entry.
- Asylum seekers who fled Taliban persecution face indefinite limbo with no clear path forward.
- Afghans abroad who risked their lives supporting U.S. missions are left stranded, despite explicit promises of protection and resettlement.
- Community members in the Bay Area fear harassment, surveillance, and detention based largely on nationality.
CAIR California (CAIR-CA) and CAIR National have condemned both the Afghan-specific immigration freeze and the broader USCIS order freezing asylum adjudications for all nationalities, and have highlighted the devastating impact on thousands of people from the 19 listed countries whose immigration applications are on hold and whose previously approved benefits are being re-reviewed. CAIR has stressed that immigrants and asylum seekers from these countries already undergo multiple rounds of interviews, biometric checks, and inter-agency security screenings.
SEE:
- CAIR-CA Urges Trum Admin to Lift Ban on Immigration and Visa Processing for Afghan Nationals
- CAIR Calls USCIS Order Freezing Asylum as “Overbroad, Redundant and Discriminatory”
CAIR-SFBA is expanding outreach to the Afghan community, offering Know Your Rights training, individual consultations, and legal support to those impacted by these policies and enforcement actions.
Community members who experience immigration delays, detentions, harassment, or rights violations are encouraged to contact CAIR-SFBA for assistance.
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-SFBA Communications Manager Lorrie Adam, 408-498-5779, ladam@cair.com