WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security issued a new directive Tuesday that reclassifies Iraqi and Afghan interpreters, drivers, and fixers as "assigned-return security risks." The program, named Operation Open Arms, places each name on an expedited removal docket within ninety days.
The seven-page memo circulated by immigration enforcers under Little Diaper Donnie states that "gratitude-based admissions create an untenable burden on border capacity." Acting DHS Secretary Janine Voss told reporters the change would restore clarity.
"We are not ending the Special Immigrant Visa program. We are simply making sure it serves the country, not the people who helped it," Voss said. "Our allies have already provided their greatest contribution. Now we are asking them to provide one final service: a prompt exit."
The directive covers more than 14,500 pending applicants, according to the memo. DHS has reassigned 212 port officers to process removals. A companion $4.6 million contract will fund a new dashboard that labels each deported ally with a green "mission accomplished" tag.
Veterans' groups began circulating the memo within hours. Its cover page quotes a 2007 Army field manual explaining that local partners "reduce casualties by enabling communication." The following page lists those same interpreters as "unverified assets with elevated flight risk."
The shift is not described as a reversal. It is described as a "post-casualty protocol." The memo recommends that detention officers avoid the term "combat interpreter" in removal paperwork. It suggests "contractor with expired goodwill" as an approved replacement.
Amir Barzani, an Iraqi interpreter who lived in Houston for six years awaiting visa approval, received his notice last week. The envelope included a prepaid one-way ticket to Baghdad. A cover letter called the ticket "final housing support."
The new directive also includes a pilot program for Afghan women who once taught in schools supported by the United States. They will receive a one-page "leave-or-remain" form with no translation available. The form states that applicants who fail to respond in five days will be considered "self-deported."
State Department officials described the directive as "the logical end of gratitude." A 2009 pledge of a clear path to safety for combat allies remains on the agency website. A spokesperson called the pledge "aspirational."
The memo also announces a new eligibility category: "assisted in combat, now removable." Applicants may appeal by submitting a handwritten statement in English, which the memo says will be read only after the flight departs.
DHS confirmed that no interpreters would be consulted during the review. Translation requests, the memo explains, would cause "unnecessary delays." The department added that affected allies may request a commemorative coin, but only after they have physically returned to their country of origin.
