Two years ago this week, the U.S. government began Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) to resettle tens of thousands of Afghans across the United States. It also ended the non-combatant evacuation operation to airlift at-risk Afghans from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Country conditions in Afghanistan have deteriorated in the intervening two years of Taliban rule. Afghans in the United States, Afghanistan, and third countries need access to robust and continuous permanent and temporary protections, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Please click here for a list of resources detailing relevant country conditions in Afghanistan.

In partnership with other organizations, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) continues to urge the Biden administration to redesignate and extend Afghanistan for TPS. An extension would offer renewed protections and work authorization for the Afghan beneficiaries of the current designation. A redesignation would offer the protections of TPS to many newly arrived Afghans, who face challenges accessing the services and benefits that are available to Afghan parolees who arrived during OAW.

The Department of Homeland Security recently redesignated and extended Sudan and Ukraine for TPS for their ongoing conflicts and other extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent safe, voluntary returns. USCRI urges a similar recognition in the coming days and weeks of the dire country conditions present in Afghanistan.

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