Trump crackdown threatens St. Louis goal to boost Afghan community, add residents

By Post Dispatch

Sulaiman Sulaimankhil sat down to snack on some Oreos after giving blood in the cafeteria of the International Institute Friday, others trickling in past him to donate. 

An Afghan who came to the U.S after the fall of Kabul in 2021, he and the U.S. Afghan Chamber of Commerce, based in St. Louis, helped organize the blood drive as a service project in direct response to the shooting of two National Guard members last month by an Afghan national.

After the Nov. 26 shooting, the Afghan Chamber in St. Louis immediately put out a statement condemning it and asking Americans to "not let the heinous act of one individual reflect on the characters of all Afghan-Americans." But Sulaimankhil said he and his co-organizers hoped the blood drive would "speak louder than words," and show "we all contribute to this city. We contribute to the community and we contribute to America in general."

But President Donald Trump's response to the shooting has already sent shockwaves through a St. Louis Afghan community of about 7,000 people, about 2,100 of them new arrivals since the Taliban retook the country and sent an estimated 200,000 Afghans who worked with occupying U.S. forces seeking refuge in America.

The administration paused applications for green cards and other immigration documents. People with family members still stuck outside the U.S. wonder if they will ever be allowed to reunite with them. And the Trump administration says it will re-review and re-interview the thousands of Afghans who arrived here since 2021.

"People are afraid," said Sulaimankhil, whose own green card application has been pending for months. "Even if you're a legal resident."

In addition to uncertainty the Trump administration has stoked throughout the Afghan community, the moves now threaten a years-long effort in St. Louis to lure Afghans here to boost the local population and revitalize neighborhoods.  

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