Democratic lawmakers seek to restore deportation protections to Afghans in the U.S.

A pair of House Democrats will try to bypass Republican leaders and force a vote to restore Temporary Protected Status to Afghan nationals in the United States by introducing a discharge petition when Congress returns Monday night.

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., will file the petition, which would require signatures from 218 members to bring forth legislation to grant Afghans protection from deportation until mid-2029.

TPS, created by Congress in 1990, is a Department of Homeland Security program that allows migrants to live and work in the U.S. for up to 18 months if their home countries have been designated as unsafe. The time period can be extended.

President Donald Trump’s administration terminated the status for Afghanistan in May 2025, a designation that former President Joe Biden’s administration had granted in 2022.

“This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at the time. She added that “Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.”

While the Trump administration recently planned to deport dozens of Afghan immigrants and asylum-seekers to Pakistan, a federal judge last week…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business