Afghanistan Peace CampaignAdvocates are hopeful they’ll be able to head off scheduled flights to deport Afghan nationals by forcing a vote on a bill to reinstate protections that were scrapped under President Trump.
Rep. Jason Crow (R-Colo.), a veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan, will file a discharge petition Monday night to force a vote on a bill that would preserve Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghans.
The effort comes as the administration has threatened to deport Afghan nationals to Pakistan as soon as mid-November as part of a plan to then return them to their home country of Afghanistan.
“Our Afghan partners put their lives on the line to help protect American servicemembers like me. After more than two decades of war, we made a promise that we’d look after them. It’s both a moral and national security imperative that we keep that promise,” Crow said in a statement.
“I’m working to force a vote that will protect Afghans already in the United States because I won’t let our nation leave these brave Afghans behind.”
Slightly over 8,000 Afghans risk deportation back to the country after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ended TPS for Afghanistan. The Supreme Court over the summer found the courts had little power to review the suspensions of TPS, allowing the protections to be stripped for citizens of 13 different countries.
Afghans are in a unique position among former TPS holders. Many came to the U.S. during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and some have had trouble securing other statuses, either struggling to make it through the asylum backlog or who encourtering difficulties in meeting the numerous requirements to secure the Special Immigrant Visa given to those who served alongside U.S. military members.
Deporting these Afghans threatens to deliver U.S. allies into a situation where they could face retribution by the Taliban. The group in immigration custody facing deportation includes women.
Court battles to block the deportations have had some initial success, but in one court filing, DHS nonetheless said they plan to continue with deportation flights scheduled for Nov. 16.
The plan is facing other roadblocks as well. Pakistan has said the plan is still under review. Meanwhile, the Taliban has said they are opposed.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expresses its serious concern over reports that the United States intends to deport some Afghan refugees to Pakistan who have not yet been able to obtain legal residency documents in that country,” foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said in a statement to EuroNews.
Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, called their opposition significant.
“When even the Taliban say they have ‘serious concern’ about your deportation plan, it is time to stop and ask what you are doing,” he said in a statement.
“Pakistan and the Taliban are at each other’s throats, the border between them is nearly shut, and this administration wants to drop the families of America’s allies in the middle of it. That is not immigration enforcement. It is abandonment with a boarding pass. These families stood with our troops. Stop the flight.”
Publicly, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not commented on deportation plans.
“ICE does not comment on prospective removal operations, including flight schedules, passenger manifests, destinations, or individual case details,” the agency said in a statement.
“For operational security reasons and the safety of our officers, we would not confirm future removal operations.”
But moving ahead with the TPS bill is no small task either.
Crow has bipartisan support. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) who released a campaign video asserting that Trump had gone too far on immigration – are among the measure’s co-sponsors.
Crow will also have to net 218 signatures, winning over four GOP members, in order to force a vote on the floor.
Such a move is not unprecedented in the House. Earlier this year, the chamber passed a bill to restore TPS for Haiti when several GOP members backed a discharge petition to restore protections for citizens of that country.
But the bill has languished in the Senate, where GOP leadership has not brought it to the floor.
The same fate could easily face an Afghan TPS bill, as Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has been a vocal opponent of past efforts to give status to Afghans who entered the country as part of the evacuation effort under the Biden administration.
A bill must have been introduced for a certain amount of time before it is considered ripe for a discharge petition and it also remains unclear whether and when the Trump administration might move ahead with the flights.
“This is about America keeping our word. Thousands of Afghans risked their lives alongside American troops because our country made them a promise: We would not abandon them. Now, we risk sending them back into the hands of the very Taliban forces they helped us fight,” Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.), a co-sponsor of the measure with Crow, said in a statement.
“This cannot wait until the Democratic majority takes over—we need to reinstate Temporary Protected Status immediately and keep our friends safe.”