Stuck in limbo Laila Ayub, A’s lawyer, said the US immigration system is stacked against asylum seekers like A, and that the US should do more to help Afghans who put their lives at risk to get to the country.

“What we are seeing is a situation where people are being closed out of the US even though there is a well-founded fear of persecution in Afghanistan,” Ayub said. “The US needs to provide Afghans with safe and legal pathways to the US,” she added.

For now, A and his wife are stuck in limbo, waiting for a resolution to a case that could very well end in deportation. “My only hope is that I am not deported,” he said. “I don’t want to go back."