Legal Precarity and the Mental Health of Displaced Afghan Persons in Shifting Policy Contexts
At a time when the human rights of forcibly displaced people and other migrants are increasingly under threat in the United States and globally, addressing the mental health and well-being of these communities has become an urgent public health and human rights concern. This opening post is written by members of the Migrant and Displaced Persons (M&DP) Task Force of the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice, a group of researchers, clinicians, and advocates committed to advancing equity-oriented, research-informed responses to displacement and forced migration. We write from an interdisciplinary perspective, with the shared aim of illuminating how social and policy environments shape the mental health of forcibly displaced people and to advocate for humane, evidence-based responses.
This essay launches a series of Perspectives pieces that explore the mental health and well‑being of forcibly displaced Afghan persons through research, lived experience, and community practice. While the series focuses on Afghans, it highlights their experiences to illuminate broader global patterns shaping displacement and mental health. Together, the posts examine how displacement, political instability, and shifting social climates in host countries shape individual and community mental health, while highlighting pathways toward protection, healing, and collective resilience.
Recent reporting examines the ongoing legal and psychological precarity faced by many displaced persons who supported U.S. military and humanitarian efforts and were subsequently forced to flee Afghanistan (Barton, 2026). Despite having undergone evacuation and vetting processes, numerous individuals remain in extended legal limbo in the United States, uncertain whether they will be permitted to stay, reunite with family members, or be returned to danger. This prolonged instability compounds earlier trauma associated with war, displacement, and loss, generating chronic stress that undermines mental health and well-being. Living without durable legal status limits access to employment, education, and consistent health care, while the constant fear of deportation or policy reversal perpetuates anxiety and despair. Such conditions demonstrate how tenuous post-resettlement policies and bureaucratic delays can function as structural stressors, exacerbating mental health risks long after displaced persons have escaped immediate physical danger.
How have recent events shaped the displacement of Afghans?
The departure of U.S. and other allied forces from Afghanistan in the fall of 2021, followed by the collapse of the coalition-backed government and the takeover by the Taliban, resulted in large-scale displacement. Many people fled the country, including former Afghan military or government officials, individuals who worked with U.S. or other coalition forces, minoritized ethnic or religious groups, and women’s rights advocates. Approximately 124,000 Afghans were airlifted to the United States just before the Taliban entered Kabul and regained power in August 2021. These extraordinary numbers of displaced Afghan people added to an already large number of refugees in countries, such as Pakistan, Iran, Germany, and others. Many who resettled elsewhere continue to face uncertainty about long-term stability, increasing mental health risks. Although the internationally recognized Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees has been in place for over 55 years, these protections have proven uneven and vulnerable to political change, reducing access to safety, stability, and care for displaced Afghans in the United States.
How has this recent displacement affected the mental health of Afghans?
The cumulative effects of war, displacement, and disrupted resettlement expose displaced persons to multiple physical and psychological challenges with women, children, and older adults facing heightened vulnerability. Loss events, including those experienced by forcibly displaced Afghans often contribute to depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Bogic, Njoku, & Priebe, 2015; Vromans et al., 2017). Research consistently documents elevated rates of PTSD and depression among Afghan adults and children (Maria et al., 2021; Thabet, Abed, & Vostanis, 2004). .
Many displaced persons also face barriers following resettlement, such as limited language proficiency, lack of familiarity with available services, and difficulty accessing culturally responsive screening, referral, and treatment. Community-based organizations play a critical role in supporting the well-being of forcibly displaced people. Peer support programs help build strong communities by providing culturally grounded services, trusted spaces, and navigation support. Grassroots organizations can buffer the effects of migration-related loss and discrimination, while increasing access to resources, cultural connectedness, capacity building and empowerment. These spaces recognize newly arrived individuals as multi-dimensional human beings who draw on their cultural and community strengths to foster their collective resilience [VG2] (See Bari & Faraz, n.d.). In addition to supporting individual and family well-being, community-based organizations strengthen local service systems by building trust, improving access to care, and fostering social cohesion with receiving communities.
How can policies shape displaced persons’ mental health?
Policies that support the well-being of Afghan people displaced by more than 20 years of war are urgently needed. In the years since military withdrawal, Afghanistan has experienced additional humanitarian crises, including deadly earthquakes, which have further weakened the country’s infrastructure (Associated Press, 2025). Advocates have called for coordinated action and policies that support mental health and family unity, recognizing that legal protections and humanitarian assistance operate across a continuum of displacement (Willis & Verdelli, 2023). Yet legal protections for displaced persons have long been tenuous and subject to shifting political priorities, leaving mental health support vulnerable even for communities in formal resettlement. Reductions in humanitarian assistance further compound these vulnerabilities by deepening hardship in Afghanistan. For displaced Afghans resettled in the United States, this combination of legal uncertainty and worsening conditions in their country of origin sustains instability and underscores the need for clear and transparent legal frameworks that support long-term security, integration, and mental well-being.
What perspectives are missing?
Communities worldwide continue to experience overlapping forms of violence and instability that drive displacement. Ongoing threats to legal refugee status and immigrant protections illustrate that resettlement alone does not guarantee safety or mental well-being for displaced persons in the United States and elsewhere. Together, these realities show that mental health is influenced by current policies, social conditions, and access to protections for displaced persons in host countries. Building on this foundation, the posts that follow examine the policy landscape for displaced Afghans in Germany and the work of community advocates working directly with newcomers, offering insight into structural barriers and community-led responses. Together, they demonstrate how research, policy analysis, and community-led practice can inform more effective and humane approaches to support the mental health and well-being of displaced persons.
The Migrants and Displaced Persons (M&DP) Task Force will further explore how
displacement, political instability, and shifting social climates in host countries shape individual
and community mental health, while highlighting pathways toward protection, healing, and
collective resilience in the second and third installment of the series.
Part Two: The Growing Challenges Faced by Forcibly Displaced Afghans in Germany
References
Associated Press. (2025, September 2). Earthquake kills 800 in Afghanistan: More than 2,500 injured. New York Daily News, pp.6-7. https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/09/01/afghanistan-earthquake-6-magnitude/
Bari, K.M. & Faraz, N. (n.d.) The experience of socio-economic integration: A qualitative study on Afghan refugee women in Karachi. [Working paper.] Data for Development Program (D4D), United Nations Population Fund & Sustainable Development Policy Institute.
Barton, T. (2026, January 20). Afghans fear legal limbo despite risking their lives. The Daily Nonpareil (Council Bluffs, Iowa), p.A7.
Bogic, M., Njoku, A., & Priebe, S. (2015). Long-term mental health of war-refugees: a systematic literature review. BMC international health and human rights, 15, 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12914-015-0064-9
Maria, M., Dimitra, T., Mary, G., Stella, K., Athanasios, N., & Sarafis, P. (2021). Depression, resilience and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in asylum-seeker war refugees. Materia socio-medica, 33(1), 26.
Thabet, A. A. M., Abed, Y., & Vostanis, P. (2004). Comorbidity of PTSD and depression among refugee children during war conflict. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45(3), 533-542.
Vromans, L., Schweitzer, R. D., Brough, M., Correa-Velez, I., Murray, K., & Lenette, C. (2017). Contributions of loss events to loss distress and trauma symptoms in recently resettled refugee women at risk. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 22(4), 357-370.
Willis, S., & Verdeli, H. (2023). Advocacy in inclusive humanitarian action. In Handbook of Disability: Critical Thought and Social Change in a Globalizing World (pp. 1-19). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.