They helped the U.S. military order airstrikes against Taliban and Islamic State fighters and worked as drivers and translators during America's longest war. They were set to start new lives in the United States.
Then President Donald Trump issued executive orders that put an end to programs used to help Afghans get to safety in America. Now those same Afghans, who underwent a yearslong background check, find themselves in a state of limbo.
"I was shocked. I am still in shock because I have already waited four years for this process, to get out of this hell and to get to a safe place and live in peace and have a new beginning," said Roshangar, one of the Afghans whose life was upended by Trump's action. Roshangar requested that The Associated Press only use his first name because he was afraid of Taliban reprisals.
He spoke in an interview from Afghanistan where he, his wife and son live in hiding, fearing punishment or even execution by the Taliban for his more than a decade-long partnership with American forces.
Roshangar served as a legal adviser to the Afghan Air Force, helping U.S. officials review and eventually approve airstrike packages that were used against the Taliban and the Islamic State group from 2007 until the fall of Kabul, the Afghan capital, in 2021.
