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Afghans who fought alongside the U.S. military now fear retribution on two fronts: Both from the Taliban and the Trump administration.

• President Donald Trump has seized on the deadly shooting in Washington, D.C. last week by an Afghan suspect to crack down on immigrants who helped American troops during the devastating war in the Middle East. These folks were promised new lives in the United States on special immigrant visas (SIVs), since the Taliban actively hunts them down for treason. But the waitlist is long, and now the process could take many more years.

• This is blatant xenophobia from the White House, scapegoating an entire demographic due to the actions of a single person. (The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has pleaded not guilty.) This week, Trump’s team halted all asylum applications and visas for Afghans — and they’re actively re-examining all Afghans who have already arrived. ICE is now prioritizing deporting Afghans who have already been given orders to leave the country, and Trump is pausing immigration applications from 19 countries, including Afghanistan.

• The message is clear: Trump didn’t want Afghans here in the first place, and now he has an excuse to do what he wanted to do. Meanwhile, many who have been waiting for years for special immigrant visas are increasingly afraid for their lives.

• “It is our hope that I will get out of this hell. But the American government is very unfaithful,” one SIV applicant in Afghanistan told What A Day. “What is our crime? The crime was committed by a bad person. Not all Afghans are guilty…. I condemn this act. I ask the U.S. government [to] please not make us the victims of this bad person.”

• This man lived and worked alongside American soldiers for two decades, he added, describing the troops as family. “We helped them from a pure heart,” the man said. “But the Americans were disloyal, they left us alone, tied our hands to the terrorists, and now I live in secret.… I am tired of this life.”

Afghan allies now living in the United States are also anxious about being targeted.

• AfghanEvac, an advocacy group assisting SIV applicants, said that it has received reports that Afghans have been detained after they were summoned to meet with federal immigration officials for supposedly routine reasons. ICE has also made unannounced visits to homes around the country, taking Afghan men into custody, the group said in an email.

• The White House pushed back on criticism of its recent actions toward Afghans: “Every action taken by President Trump is taken in the best interest of the American people,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told What A Day in a statement.

• Afghans in the U.S. are “heartbroken” about the way they’re being treated, one SIV holder told What A Day. “We were made a promise of safety and a better future for us and our families,” he added. “We risked our lives like every other American soldier and stood shoulder by shoulder with the U.S troops. Why are we treated like this?”

• Afghans aren’t the only group falling victim to the president’s vitriol. Ahead of expected federal operations in Minneapolis, Trump literally used the word “garbage” to refer to Somalis living there: “I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you… their country is no good for a reason,” he said on Tuesday. The country will “go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country.”

Keep in mind that the suspected D.C. shooter was granted asylum only months ago — by the Trump administration.

WHAT ELSE?

The family of a Colombian man killed in a U.S. strike against an alleged drug boat filed a formal complaint today, accusing the Trump administration of violating human rights in the “extra-judicial killing.” The 42-year-old fisherman was the breadwinner for his wife and four children, according to the family’s lawyer. The Trump administration didn’t respond to requests for comment from multiple outlets.

On that note, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has spent decades complaining about rules of engagement for the military, according to the Wall Street Journal. Translation: Hegseth wants the military to do whatever it wants without consequences. “Rules of engagement are a huge problem, as you know,” Hegseth said on a podcast last year. “All they do is take one incident and yell ‘war criminal.’”

But wait, there’s more! An independent watchdog concluded that Hegseth endangered American troops’ lives by sharing private war plans in a Signal chat earlier this year. What an asshat.

Trump pardoned Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and his wife, accusing the Biden administration of targeting political enemies even within his own party. Last year, the Cuellars were charged with accepting some $600,000 in bribes from entities in Azerbaijan and Mexico. The couple has denied any wrongdoing. “Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Soon after, Cuellar filed to run for re-election.

The U.S.-Russia meeting in Moscow yesterday yielded no major diplomatic breakthroughs to end the war in Ukraine. “Compromises have not yet been found,” the Kremlin said in a statement. So… it looks like Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is stringing Trump’s team along yet again. Shocker!

ICE and Border Patrol began their immigration crackdown in New Orleans today. The scope of the operation isn’t yet clear, but if it resembles past operations, you can expect to hear about federal agents using brutal tactics to target vulnerable community members, even if they’re at church or school.

A Trump-backed candidate won the special House election in Tennessee last night, which was expected… but the close margin gives the GOP a fresh reason to worry about next year’s midterms. Democratic candidate Aftyn Behn lost by only 9 points in a district that Trump won by 22 points last year. “Tonight is a sign that 2026 is going to be a bitch of an election cycle,” one House Republican told Politico.

It’s looking increasingly unlikely that Congress will strike a deal to extend Obamacare subsidies, which means that health care prices will continue skyrocketing into the new year. Why won’t Republican lawmakers give in? “No one wants a primary challenge where the accusation is: ‘You supported Obamacare,’” one GOP strategist told Politico.

Remember that Young Republicans chapter whose members talked about their love for Adolf Hitler in a group chat? Well… that same New York group is planning to honor a leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party at their annual gala. They ain’t beating the allegations!

Nature magazine retracted a major study from last year, which claimed that the impact of climate change by 2100 would be much more disastrous than previously estimated. The data for one country was incorrect, skewing the findings significantly. But don’t take this as good news: The effects of climate change by the end of the century are still expected to be rough.

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE EMAIL…

The Trump administration can’t direct federal agents to arrest any suspected undocumented immigrant in Washington, D.C. without a warrant, a federal judge ruled. The judge’s rationale was blunt: “Requiring defendants to put pen to paper and explain who made each arrest and why constitutes the bare minimum to ensure defendants are compliant with the Constitution.”

Lego is releasing a life-sized replica of the FIFA World Cup. Hitting the shelves in March, the trophy will be composed of 2,842 lego bricks and cost $200. It would be much cooler if the plastic blocks were actually solid gold, like the real trophy. I’m just sayin’.

A raccoon in Virginia accidentally broke into a liquor store and had a wild night, slurping alcohol and smashing bottles. “He fell through one of the ceiling tiles and went on a full-blown rampage, drinking everything,” an officer said. After the bender, the raccoon slept a few hours and was released back into the wild without injuries. Impressive, tbh.

A private deep-sea diving firm will continue the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared more than a decade ago, according to Malaysia’s transport ministry. The Texas-based firm will receive $70 million if it finds wreckage. I’m, uh, literally on a plane writing this, so just in case… I’m passing Nebraska right now!

An Ethiopian man who came to the U.S. for open heart surgery as a teenager now assists with open heart procedures — alongside the doctor who saved his life. Because of the doctor, as well as an American cardiologist who adopted him as a teenager, “I was blessed with a second life,” the man said. This is the most touching story you’ll read today.

Happy Spotify Wrapped Day to those who celebrate! While the streaming giant sucks when it comes to paying artists, it does provide a fun end-of-the-year music roundup for listeners. Have you ever wondered how Crooked’s Jane Coaston summons the energy to cover Trump’s nonsense on the What A Day pod every blessed day? Just take one look at her top artists and you’ll start to understand: Korn, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, and Phillip Glass. We’re all raging against the machine these days, aren’t we?