Getting On Your Feet Just as the Rug Gets Pulled

When the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, one father knew his family could no longer stay.

Steven* and his family had spent years working for an international organization supported by the United States and other global partners, helping carry out development work in Afghanistan. This work had been critical in helping to rebuild both the country and international relations after the Afghanistan war ended. When the U.S. suddenly withdrew its troops and the Taliban seized power, the organization shut down immediately. Like many Afghans who had worked alongside American-backed efforts, his family was no longer safe. Though long and complicated, Steven, his wife, and their five children began the process to enter the United States as documented refugees.

With the help of U.S. agencies, they fled to a third country, where they spent more than three years completing every requirement of the refugee resettlement process. They underwent biometric collection, background investigations, security screenings, interviews, and repeated reviews before finally receiving approval to come to the United States.

In January 2025, Steven and his family arrived in Tennessee as legal refugees. Within two weeks, refugee resettlement agencies helped the family obtain social security numbers, TennCare Medicaid, work authorization, and SNAP benefits. These programs were vital in helping them rebuild the life that they were forced to leave behind.

For a family starting over in a new country, SNAP and TennCare Medicaid provided stability while Steven searched for work. "It was a very good support," he said.

As Steven and his family settled into life in Tennessee, he found a job and supplemented his income by driving for rideshare and delivery services. At the same time, he began repaying nearly $19,000 in resettlement costs that had allowed his family to travel safely to the United States through the refugee program.

Then, during a routine SNAP recertification in early 2026, the family received devastating news: Their SNAP benefits had been rescinded due to immigrant eligibility changes made in H.R.1 (“One Big Beautiful Bill”). Refugee families are no longer eligible for SNAP and TennCare Medicaid.

A caseworker at the Tennessee Department of Human Services (T-DHS) explained that because of changes in federal law, the family no longer qualified for SNAP since they had not yet received permanent resident status. Believing there had been a mistake, Steven reapplied and completed another interview. But the answer was the same.

"If you don't have a green card... you are not eligible," he recalled being told.

The decision was difficult to understand after everything his family had done to follow the rules. "We did the full process," he said. "Three years... they did all the background checkups. We did biometrics... The security checkups... Everything was finished."

Today, the loss of SNAP has forced him to work even longer hours and multiple jobs just to cover the family's basic expenses. "I do Uber [on top of my regular job] so that I can cover the rent [and] utilities."

Even with the extra work, the sudden loss of food assistance has created tremendous financial strain. "I'm struggling a lot," Steven shared.

What troubles him most is that his family's experience is not unique. "I just want to say that it strongly affects the lives of everyone," he said. "I'm not talking about me, but it strongly affects [many families]." Steven’s family immigrated here through this process with dozens of other families, all of whom are facing the same loss of support. 

His family came to the United States through one of the most thoroughly vetted immigration pathways available. They waited years, passed every security screening, followed every legal requirement, and arrived determined to work and become self-sufficient.

Instead, just as they were beginning to build a new life, one of the supports designed to help families like Steven’s get back on their feet disappeared.

*Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the family's privacy.