Human Rights | US Reps. Jason Crow and Sam Liccardo are moving to force a House vote on a bill that would protect more than 8,000 Afghans in the US from deportation

ACW | November 10, 2026 — Two Democratic members of Congress, Jason Crow and Sam Liccardo, said on Monday they are moving to force a House vote on a bill that would shield Afghans in the United States from deportation.

The two lawmakers planned to file a discharge petition when Congress returned from recess on Monday night, NBC News reported. The petition needs 218 signatures to bring the bill to the floor, Liccardo's office said.

The Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026, H.R. 9899, would grant Temporary Protected Status to Afghans in the US until July 2029. More than 8,000 Afghans are at risk of deportation, according to Liccardo's office.

"I'm working to force a vote that will protect Afghans already in the United States," Crow said, according to NBC News. "This cannot wait until the Democratic majority takes over," Liccardo said.

Four Republicans, Don Bacon, Maria Elvira Salazar, Joe Wilson and Morgan Luttrell, co-sponsor the bill, NBC News reported. The Department of Homeland Security has not commented in published reports.

Background: The Biden administration granted TPS to eligible Afghans in 2022, and the Trump administration ended it in 2025, Liccardo's office said. Last week a federal judge temporarily blocked a government plan to deport dozens of Afghans to Pakistan, NBC News reported. Earlier, UNHCR said 1.29 million Afghans had returned from Iran and Pakistan.

Why it matters: More than 8,000 Afghans in the US face possible forced removal, according to Liccardo's office. Liccardo has said the US promised Afghans who worked as interpreters and partners for its forces that it would not abandon them.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Sources: NBC News — Democratic lawmakers seek to restore deportation protections to Afghans in the U.S.; Office of Rep. Sam Liccardo — Liccardo moves to force vote on protections for Afghan refugees; Congress.gov — H.R. 9899, Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026; Afghanistan International — Democrats to force vote on halting Afghan deportations (Dari)

Photo: Jason Crow, official US House portrait (public domain), Wikimedia Commons