US Lawmakers Seek Vote to Restore Afghan Deportation Protections Through July 2029

A push for protection before deportation flights

A House petition to restore deportation protections for eligible Afghans had 21 signatures on November 9, 2026, leaving its supporters 197 short of the number needed to force action. The effort comes as the Trump administration pursues flights to Pakistan, with onward transport to Afghanistan described in government court filings.

Representatives Jason Crow of Colorado and Sam Liccardo of California, both Democrats, are seeking a vote on the Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026. The legislation would allow qualifying Afghan nationals already in the United States to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), allowing them to remain and work legally through July 1, 2029.

The immediate pressure comes from deportation plans involving about 150 Afghans held in immigration custody. An early November flight from Louisiana was halted, and a federal judge barred removals to Afghanistan or Pakistan through November 7. A later Department of Homeland Security court filing said the department intended to proceed with flights scheduled for November 16.

Crow, a former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan, argues that the United States owes protection to people who helped American forces. Liccardo says waiting for a change in congressional control would leave those people exposed to removal.

The petition is a route toward a vote, while the bill would create protection only after becoming law. It would need House and Senate approval and the president's signature. With a court restriction having expired and another flight date approaching, the legislative and deportation timetables are moving at different speeds.

What the bill actually promises

The official text of the Afghanistan TPS Act, numbered H.R. 9899, says Afghanistan would be treated as designated for TPS under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Its initial protection period would begin when the legislation becomes law and end on July 1, 2029.

Crow introduced the bill on July 23, 2026, with Liccardo, Republican Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar and Don Bacon, and Democratic Representative Bill Keating. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

Congress created TPS in 1990 for eligible people whose home countries face war, disaster or other conditions that make return unsafe. It provides temporary protection against deportation and access to permission to work. Ordinary country designations are generally issued for limited periods that can be renewed; this bill specifies its own end date.

TPS does not grant permanent residency or automatically lead to citizenship. For an Afghan worker or parent relying on this protection, the practical change would be time to remain legally in the United States, earn a living and pursue any separate immigration application for which they qualify.

Who could qualify, and how quickly?

H.R. 9899 sets eligibility around an applicant's presence in the United States and the checks required by immigration law. Applicants would need to have been continuously physically present since the date the legislation takes effect, register through established procedures and meet the applicable admission and eligibility rules.

The bill requires applicants to submit biometric and biographical information and complete criminal and national security background checks. Its eligibility language covers qualifying Afghan nationals, rather than limiting applications to people who served alongside American troops or previously held TPS.

The Department of Homeland Security would have to decide TPS and associated employment authorization applications within 90 days of receiving them. The bill allows an extension of up to 150 days when information specific to an applicant raises national security concerns. The secretary would have to certify the reason to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

Applicants could seek waivers of filing fees. People granted protection could also obtain prior permission for a brief trip abroad when emergency and extenuating circumstances beyond their control require travel. Those provisions address two practical problems for families: the cost of applying and the need to respond to an emergency outside the United States.

Why 218 signatures matter

Crow and Liccardo are using a discharge petition, a House procedure that can move legislation toward a floor vote without the agreement of the committee or leadership holding it back. Their petition needs 218 signatures, a majority of the full House.

The November 9 tally was 20 Democrats and one Republican, Bacon of Nebraska. Those 21 signatures represented less than one tenth of the required total. Supporters still needed 197 more lawmakers to sign.

The bill has broader Republican backing than the petition's initial count: Salazar of Florida, Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Morgan Luttrell of Texas have also supported the legislation. Kevin Kiley of California, a former Republican serving as an independent, has backed it as well. Supporting a bill and signing the petition are separate actions, which explains why the initial signature count was smaller than the list of supporters.

The lawmakers took an initial procedural step on October 1 before filing the petition on November 9. Reaching 218 signatures would open the procedural route to House consideration; passage of the bill itself would still require a majority vote.

A Senate version introduced in August had been referred to committee. Democrats secured majorities in both chambers in the November elections, but the departing Congress remains responsible for legislation during the period before the newly elected Congress takes office.

How Afghanistan lost TPS

The Biden administration first designated Afghanistan for TPS in May 2022, following the Taliban's return to power in August 2021. An extension announced in September 2023 continued protection through May 20, 2025. The Trump administration announced termination in May 2025, and it took effect on July 14 that year.

The Department of Homeland Security estimated that approximately 11,700 Afghan nationals held TPS at the time of termination. Kristi Noem, then homeland security secretary, said the administration was returning the program to its temporary purpose and argued that Afghanistan's security conditions and economy had improved enough to permit returns.

Slightly more than 8,000 Afghans were subsequently described as facing deportation risk following the termination. The two figures measure different groups: 11,700 was the department's estimate of TPS holders when protection ended, while the smaller figure concerns people facing removal risk afterward.

Afghans with another valid immigration status or separate protection could have other legal grounds to remain. People relying solely on TPS lost that basis for staying and working when the designation ended.

The dates driving the dispute

The effort stretches across the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the end of temporary protections and the current fight over deportation flights. The main dates are:

• August 2021: The Taliban returned to power as American forces withdrew, and more than 120,000 Afghans were evacuated.
• May 2022: The Biden administration first designated Afghanistan for TPS.
• July 14, 2025: The Trump administration's termination of Afghanistan's TPS designation took effect.
• July 23, 2026: Crow introduced H.R. 9899, which went to the House Judiciary Committee.
• October 1, 2026: Crow and Liccardo took an initial procedural step toward forcing consideration.
• November 7, 2026: A temporary court restriction on deportations to Afghanistan or Pakistan expired.
• November 9, 2026: The discharge petition was filed and had 21 signatures that day.
• November 16, 2026: DHS identified this date for planned deportation flights in a court filing.
• July 1, 2029: Protection under the proposed legislation would end.

The bill's protection would begin on enactment, so its duration would depend on when it became law. Lawmakers have proposed a fixed ending date rather than a guaranteed three years of protection for every applicant.

Why the Pakistan route matters

Immigration and Customs Enforcement filings in Texas and Oklahoma described a flight in the first week of November to Pakistan, followed by transport to Afghanistan. Human Rights First confirmed plans for a flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, carrying about 150 Afghans. A letter from 66 Democratic lawmakers urged the administration to stop it.

US District Judge Valerie Caproni barred deportations to Afghanistan or Pakistan through November 7 after the government represented that none would occur that week. Government lawyers told the court there were no planned or confirmed flights for Afghans during that period, while earlier filings had described a scheduled departure.

Pakistan said the later deportation proposal remained under review. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan had deteriorated, and key border crossings were largely closed. The terms of any arrangement for receiving these Afghans had not been made public.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the Taliban's foreign ministry, voiced concern about sending Afghans to Pakistan when they lacked legal residency there. ICE declined to confirm future flight schedules, destinations or passenger details, citing operational security and officer safety.

The proposed routing has made the eventual destination central to the dispute. The 66 lawmakers warned that the United States has an obligation not to return people to a place where they face torture, even if the journey includes another country.

Their letter stated:

That obligation does not disappear because a flight makes a stop along the way.

Who faces the danger of return?

The Afghans facing removal include people who assisted American forces and relatives of those who did. Attorneys and advocates also identified women, LGBTQ+ people, and members of religious and ethnic minorities among the people threatened with deportation.

Court records describe a former university student who testified that Taliban fighters detained and beat him after accusing him of helping their enemies. An immigration judge denied his asylum claim in July 2025, citing gaps between his testimony and his parents' written accounts. He represented himself on appeal, and the Board of Immigration Appeals declined to consider his case.

Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of the resettlement coalition #AfghanEvac, said many people scheduled for removal lacked lawyers when they went through immigration proceedings. Some had been detained after routine ICE appointments, and many had final removal orders.

Afghans seeking other protections face a crowded immigration system. Some have struggled to resolve asylum applications; others have had difficulty meeting the requirements for Special Immigrant Visas available to qualifying people who worked with the United States. TPS would give eligible applicants temporary protection while those separate legal processes continue.

The risks described by detainees sit alongside United Nations documentation of abuse against Afghans returned from Iran and Pakistan. That documentation included at least five killings of former Afghan security forces members during the first three months of the year.

A promise to allies meets a difficult vote

More than 50 organizations support the legislation, including Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Amnesty International USA. Their involvement connects the immigration dispute with the commitments made during the American military mission.

Crow, the Colorado Democrat and former Army Ranger leading the effort, described that commitment in a statement:

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.

Liccardo, the California Democrat helping lead the petition, said the danger required action before the next Congress:

This cannot wait until the Democratic majority takes over—we need to reinstate Temporary Protected Status immediately and keep our friends safe.

A similar House effort earlier in the year restored TPS for Haiti after Republicans joined a discharge petition, but that bill stalled in the Senate. Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton has opposed previous efforts to grant status to Afghans evacuated under the Biden administration.

The Afghan proposal therefore faces several decisions beyond gathering signatures: a House vote, Senate action and presidential approval. No date had been announced for a House vote. For families facing removal, the next immediate date identified by DHS was November 16, while supporters of the bill were still seeking the signatures needed to begin the voting process.

Key Points

• H.R. 9899 would let eligible Afghans apply for TPS through July 1, 2029.
• The discharge petition had 21 signatures on November 9, leaving 197 needed to reach 218.
• Applicants would need to meet presence and eligibility requirements and complete background checks.
• Afghanistan's previous TPS designation ended on July 14, 2025, affecting approximately 11,700 holders at the time.
• A court restriction on deportations to Afghanistan or Pakistan expired November 7; DHS later identified November 16 for planned flights.
• The bill needs House and Senate approval and the president's signature before it can provide protection.