HIAS Welcomes TPS Extension and Redesignation for Afghanistan

SILVER SPRING, Md. — HIAS welcomes Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ announcement on the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan for 18 months.

“Following DHS’s extension and redesignation of TPS for Venezuelans this week, we are pleased to see the Biden administration take similar action on behalf of Afghan nationals in the United States,” said HIAS Vice President of U.S. Policy and Advocacy Naomi Steinberg. “The administration’s extension announcement will benefit 3,100 current TPS holders as well as an estimated 14,600 Afghans who are more recent arrivals.”

This redesignation and extension are based on the serious threat posed by ongoing armed conflict in Afghanistan, and the resulting lack of access to food, clean water and healthcare, along with destroyed infrastructure, internal displacement and economic instability.

“While HIAS commends the redesignation and expansion of TPS for Afghans, because it will allow both protection from deportation as well as access to work authorization, TPS should never be used as a substitute for pathways that ensure permanency,” Steinberg added. “We therefore continue to urge Congress to finally pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, so that our Afghan allies can have access to permanent residency and then eventually U.S. citizenship, and can really start to rebuild their new lives in the U.S.”