TPS for Afghanistan is a Welcome Step toward Upholding Promise to Protect Afghans
CWS urges the Biden administration to expedite access to protection for at-risk Afghans left behind and work with Congress on a pathway for permanent residency for Afghan evacuees
Washington, D.C.—In response to the Biden administration granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Afghanistan, preventing deportation of thousands of Afghans living in the United States, Meredith Owen, Director of Policy and Advocacy at CWS issued the following statement:
“Today the thousands of Afghan families seeking safety in the U.S. from the violence and persecution of the Taliban can breathe a sigh of relief. The Biden’s administration’s temporary protected status designation for Afghans is an overdue and welcome step toward providing these families with the protection they need to rebuild their lives.
“It is imperative that the administration uphold its promises to the countless vulnerable Afghans who were left behind at grave risk and continue to provide safety for people under threat. We also urge the administration to create a designated parole program for Afghans, expand and expedite access to life-saving refugee protections for Afghans and other refugee nationalities, and work with Congress to swiftly pass Afghan adjustment legislation.
“While we welcome TPS for Afghanistan, for far too long Black and indigenous people have been denied much-needed protection in the United States and cruelly returned to the very fear they fled. Cameroonians, Ethiopians, and Mauritanians, among others, are praying for the administration to extend the same protection to them. They deserve nothing less.”
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