There is growing concern among Afghan immigrants in the Texas area since the death of an Afghan man on March 14. An aide for U.S. Special Forces during the war in Afghanistan, Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal died after only one day in ICE custody. The cause of death has not been officially released.

Another man, a former Afghan National Army soldier and father of eight, was arrested in Houston last year. According to his lawyer, he has no criminal record, and no charges have been filed against him.

These arrests come after President Donald Trump signed an executive order placing an indefinite pause on all visas for Afghan refugees and asylum seekers. Following the shooting of two National Guard members near the White House by an Afghan refugee late last year, anti-Afghan sentiment has been building, with President Trump calling them “the single greatest national security threat facing our nation”.

According to Axios, many members of the U.S. House of Representatives agree, with Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) posting on X: “We know the solution. Stop importing Islamists. Deport Islamists. Reject Sharia law. Defend our Western Civilization.”

Although a federal court ruled in February that an indefinite pause on the program violates federal law, its day-to-day operations have largely come to a stop. According to AfghanEvac, an organization helping to relocate and resettle Afghan refugees leaving the country after U.S. withdrawal, “application deadlines and the statutory structure, still exists, but it is not being operationalized. That means the program is paused, not dead.”

Despite the federal court ruling, a travel ban imposed earlier this year restricts travel for Afghan refugees. For the roughly 15,000 Afghan residents in Houston, the future is uncertain as they continue to be labeled as terrorists and criminals.