(Hill) The Biden administration on Thursday extended and expanded protections from deportation for some Afghan nationals already in the country, aiding those who arrived outside the U.S.-led evacuation.
The decision renews Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months for some 3,100 Afghans already in the U.S. before the fall of Kabul and extends the protections to another 14,600 additional Afghan nationals who entered the country since the Biden administration first approved TPS for the country last March.
It’s also an additional layer of protection for the nearly 80,000 Afghan evacuees living in the U.S., some of whom have applied for the status.
“Today’s announcement to extend and redesignate TPS for Afghanistan allows us to continue to offer safety and protection to Afghan nationals who are unable to return to their country,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a release.
