Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives filed a discharge petition on Monday, November 9, to force a vote on legislation that would restore deportation protection for more than 9,000 Afghans living in the United States, many of whom worked alongside American forces before the Taliban returned to power.

Congressmen Sam Liccardo, a California Democrat representing the San Jose area, and Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat and former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan, filed the petition for the bipartisan Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026, according to Liccardo's office. The petition had 21 signatures on its first day — 20 Democrats and one Republican, Don Bacon of Nebraska — leaving supporters 197 short of the 218 needed to force action, Asia Daily reported from the House tally.

Source: Asia Daily — US Lawmakers Seek Vote to Restore Afghan Deportation Protections

What the bill would do

The bill, numbered H.R. 9899, would treat Afghanistan as a country designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Qualifying Afghan nationals already in the United States could apply to remain and work legally until July 1, 2029. TPS, created by Congress in 1990, protects eligible people from deportation and gives them work authorization when their home country faces war or other conditions that make return unsafe; it does not by itself grant permanent residency or citizenship.

Under the bill's text, applicants would have to show continuous physical presence in the United States, register through the established process and pass biometric, criminal and national security background checks. The Department of Homeland Security would have to decide applications within 90 days, with an extension of up to 150 days possible where an individual case raises national security concerns, certified to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Applicants could also seek waivers of filing fees.

Why now: the deportation flights in the background

The petition comes after an earlier development this newsroom has already reported: the administration's plan to fly about 150 Afghans held in immigration custody in Louisiana to Pakistan, with onward transport to Afghanistan described in government court filings. An early-November flight was halted, and U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni barred removals to Afghanistan or Pakistan through November 7. A later Homeland Security court filing identified November 16 for planned flights. Sixty-six lawmakers, in a letter led by Rep. Scott Peters of California, had urged the administration to stop the flights, writing that the obligation not to return people to a place where they face torture 'does not disappear because a flight makes a stop along the way.'

'America keeping our word'

'This is about America keeping our word,' Liccardo said in his office's statement. '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. This cannot wait until the Democratic majority takes over — we need to reinstate Temporary Protected Status immediately and keep our friends safe.'

Crow said: '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.'

How Afghanistan lost TPS

Afghanistan was first designated for TPS in May 2022, after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 as U.S. forces withdrew and more than 120,000 Afghans were evacuated. An extension carried the protection through May 20, 2025. The Trump administration announced the termination on May 12, 2025, and it took effect on July 14, 2025. Homeland Security estimated about 11,700 Afghans held TPS when the designation ended; the figure of more than 8,000 or 9,000 cited since then counts the smaller group described as facing deportation risk afterward — Afghans who relied solely on TPS and have no other status lost their legal basis to stay and work when it ended.

What happens next

Crow introduced H.R. 9899 on July 23, 2026, and it has sat in the House Judiciary Committee since then; on October 1, Crow and Liccardo filed the special rule, H.Res. 1596, that set up this discharge petition. A Senate companion, S. 5308, was introduced in August. Even if the petition reaches 218 signatures and the House passes the bill, it would still need Senate approval and the president's signature before anyone gains protection, and the petition itself expires when this Congress ends on January 3. Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton has opposed past efforts to grant status to Afghans evacuated under the previous administration. For the families in custody, the nearer date is November 16, when Homeland Security has told a court it intends to proceed with flights — weeks before Congress could realistically finish a bill.