Golden pushes for vote to protect Afghan allies in U.S. from deportation
WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today joined a bipartisan effort to force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on a bill that would provide Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Afghan citizens residing in the United States, protecting them from deportation.
“When I was deployed to Afghanistan, I met dozens of locals who put their own lives on the line to help keep us safe,” Golden said. “Thousands of Afghans who worked alongside our troops and diplomats now live in the United States, far from the extremists in their own country who would do them harm for the support they provided to America. We owe them the opportunity to build safe, prosperous lives here in the United States.”
Citizens of countries designated for TPS are provided legal residency and work permits in the United States, allowing them to build self-sufficient lives free from the risk of deportation while their immigration cases are processed. Afghanistan’s TPS designation ended in 2025, but conditions in Afghanistan remain dangerous for Afghans who supported the United States.
The Afghanistan TPS Act — bipartisan legislation introduced by Democratic Reps. Jason Crow (CO-06) and Sam Liccardo (CA-16) and GOP Reps. Don Bacon (NE-02) and Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27) — would restore TPS designation until 2029 for any Afghan citizen already in the United States by July 1, 2029, provided they clear biometric and security screening.
House Republican leadership has thus far refused to bring the bill up for a vote, despite the fact that three in four Americans support letting these vetted allies stay in the United States while their immigration cases are processed.
Rep. Crow introduced a discharge petition for the Afghanistan TPS Act on November 9. If a majority of Members sign the petition, it would require the Speaker of the House to schedule a vote on the bill. Golden signed the petition today, the 109th Member to do so. It takes 218 signatures to force a vote on the bill.
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