Veterans and the Afghan allies who served beside them marched to Capitol Hill on Veterans Day, urging Congress to protect thousands of Afghans in the U.S. from deportation.
AfghanEvac, a nonprofit that advocates for Afghan allies, organized the march. The group brought more than 150 veterans, frontline civilians and Afghan allies to the Hill to push for the Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026.
RELATED STORY | Homeland Security is removing protections that kept some Afghans from deportation
The bill would allow eligible Afghans in the country to receive Temporary Protected Status through July 1, 2029, a program that shields people from deportation and allows them to work legally when conditions in their home countries make their return unsafe. Applicants would have to meet TPS eligibility requirements and undergo biometric, biographic and national security screening. The bill does not provide a path to citizenship.
"We made a promise to Afghans because they kept their word to us. They said that they would help us when we went into their country, pursuing American interests, and they did. They followed through on their end of the deal. And then we broke our promise,” Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran and founder of AfghanEvac, told Scripps News ahead of the Wednesday’s “promise walk.”
“I want to make sure that it wasn't all a lie,” VanDiver added. “That's why we're all out here marching. That's why we're all out here putting our feet on the street, standing up for our wartime allies just like they stood up for us.”
The urgency stems from the Trump administration’s May 2025 decision to terminate TPS for Afghanistan. The termination took effect July 14, 2025, exposing more than 8,000 Afghans to deportation. Advocates and lawmakers warn that Afghans who worked with U.S. forces and others could face retaliation or persecution under Taliban rule if returned.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting detained Afghans to Afghanistan or Pakistan through Nov. 7. A separate court order subsequently protected five Afghans named in a lawsuit and required the government to provide advance notice before attempting to remove them, but that order did not protect all Afghans facing deportation.
A Department of Homeland Security court filing indicated deportation flights could resume as early as Nov. 16. ICE has not publicly confirmed specific future removal operations.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Afghan allies get 9-month reprieve as Trump administration agrees to keep Qatar refugee camp open
In the House, Democratic Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado and Sam Liccardo of California filed a discharge petition Monday seeking to bypass Republican leaders and force a vote on the Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026. The petition needs 218 signatures to force consideration on the House floor. It drew 21 signatures on its first day, according to published reports.
Crow, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he would not let the country “leave these brave Afghans behind.” Liccardo said the effort could not wait for a change in control of Congress.
“This cannot wait until the Democratic majority takes over,” Liccardo said in a statement.
Four Republicans have signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation: Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida, Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Morgan Luttrell of Texas. More than 50 organizations back the bill, including Veterans of Foreign Wars and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
"Veterans care because we believe in the idea of America, and when we make up the promise in the name of America you've got to follow through. We're nothing without our word,” VanDiver said.
