A group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., will file a discharge petition Monday night to force a vote on restoring Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghan nationals in the United States. The legislative maneuver aims to bypass Republican leadership and compel the House to consider the Afghanistan TPS Act, which would extend deportation protections for Afghans until mid-2029. The petition requires signatures from 218 members to succeed, a threshold that necessitates the support of all current House Democrats and several Republicans.
Temporary Protected Status is a Department of Homeland Security program established by Congress in 1990 that allows migrants from countries designated as unsafe to live and work in the U.S. for up to 18 months, with the possibility of extension. The Trump administration terminated TPS for Afghanistan in May 2025, reversing a designation granted by the Biden administration in 2022. The termination followed a plan by the administration to deport dozens of Afghan immigrants and asylum-seekers to Pakistan, a move that was temporarily blocked by a federal judge last week.
What the Right Is Saying
The Trump administration and Republican leadership have framed the termination of TPS as a return to the program's original intent. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated in May 2025 that the administration was "returning TPS to its original temporary intent." Noem argued that the security situation in Afghanistan had improved and that the country's stabilizing economy no longer prevented Afghans from returning home. While the discharge petition is led by Democrats, four Republicans—Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida, Joe Wilson of South Carolina, and Morgan Luttrell of Texas—have co-sponsored the Afghanistan TPS Act. Additionally, Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican-turned-independent from California, supports the bill. The White House has previously indicated its intent to veto similar TPS extensions, as seen with the Haitian TPS bill earlier this year.
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic lawmakers argue that the U.S. has a moral obligation to protect Afghans who assisted American forces. Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, stated, "Our Afghan partners put their lives on the line to help protect American servicemembers like me." Crow added that he is working to force a vote to ensure the nation does not abandon these individuals. Rep. Sam Liccardo emphasized the consequences of deportation, noting, "Now, we risk sending them back into the hands of the very Taliban forces they helped us fight. This cannot wait until the Democratic majority takes over." The effort is supported by more than 50 organizations, including Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Amnesty International USA.
What the Numbers Show
The discharge petition requires 218 signatures to force a floor vote. The Afghanistan TPS Act, introduced in July, proposes extending TPS for Afghans until July 2029. To pass the House floor, the bill needs a simple majority vote. In a precedent-setting move in April, the House passed a bill to reinstate TPS for Haitian immigrants by a vote of 224-204, with 10 Republicans joining all Democrats in support. However, Senate Republicans subsequently blocked that legislation from reaching the President's desk. The current effort follows a pattern in the 119th Congress where small groups of Republicans have joined Democrats on discharge petitions for measures including Ukraine aid and the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The House is scheduled to remain in session this week and next before a Thanksgiving recess.
The Bottom Line
The success of the discharge petition depends on securing bipartisan support to reach the 218-signature threshold. If the petition succeeds, GOP leaders will be compelled to bring the Afghanistan TPS Act to the floor. Even if the bill passes the House, it faces an uncertain future in the Senate and potential opposition from the White House, which has signaled a willingness to veto TPS extensions. The outcome will serve as a significant test of bipartisan cooperation on immigration issues and the durability of legislative workarounds to leadership control in the current Congress.