Bipartisan House effort would let Afghans stay in U.S.

Two Republican and two Democratic representatives on Thursday put forward legislation that would grant eligible Afghans in the United States temporary protected status through July 2029. Temporary protected status, or TPS, is a designation the Department of Homeland Security can give to foreign nationals unable to return home because of natural disasters or armed conflicts. The designation allows them to stay in the United States for a while until the conditions in their homeland become safer. Numerous refugee advocates and groups for veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces have endorsed the bill.

DHS last year revoked the temporary protected status designation for Afghans in the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court last month ruled that federal courts could not interfere with DHS decisions about countries’ TPS status. 

Numerous TPS designations have lasted for more than a decade. Administration supporters have long argued that TPS should be temporary. Meanwhile, administration opponents have argued that DHS has removed TPS designations for countries that remain legitimately unsafe—one of which is Afghanistan.

Who would be eligible for this new TPS designation for Afghanistan? The bill would benefit Afghans who could prove they were present and residing in the United States at the time of the bill passing, and who could pass a background check and a biometric and biographical screening exam. Those Afghans would be permitted to stay in the United States indefinitely and legally until July 1, 2029. To receive TPS, applicants would also have to prove they hadn’t committed crimes that would make them unable to stay in the United States.

Dig deeper: Read my report about Haitian pastors who are hoping members of their congregations will be able to stay in the United States following the termination of Haiti’s temporary protected status.