Two members of Congress filed a discharge petition on Monday, Nov. 9, to force a House vote on restoring deportation protections for thousands of Afghan nationals.
Reps. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.) and Jason Crow of Colorado filed the petition targeting the bipartisan Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026, according to a press release from Liccardo's office. The bill would restore Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghan nationals until July 2029, Khaama Press reported. The petition needs 218 signatures.
The stakes are immediate. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has scheduled deportation flights for Nov. 16, according to a court filing cited by The Hill. The plan would route Afghan nationals through Pakistan, where they could be returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The Trump administration formally ended TPS for Afghanistan on May 12, 2025. Slightly more than 8,000 Afghans face deportation as a result, The Hill reported. Liccardo's office put the number above 9,000.
Many of those affected served alongside U.S. forces during the 20-year war. Others included students or visitors already in the country when the Taliban seized power, Shawn VanDiver, president of the advocacy group AfghanEvac, told Bloomberg Law. VanDiver said his organization has been tasked with filing habeas petitions for detained Afghans.
Crow, a veteran who deployed to Afghanistan, has bipartisan co-sponsors including Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), The Hill reported.
On Wednesday, Nov. 11, veterans and Afghan allies planned to walk about two miles from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol to deliver a letter to Congress. The event, called the Promise Walk, was organized by AfghanEvac.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked deportations for a specific group of Afghan nationals, Khaama Press reported. DHS deportation flights are scheduled for Nov. 16.
