(NewsNation) — The Biden administration has extended an immigration deadline for Afghan refugees that was set for later this year, allowing them to continue to legally live and work in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Friday.
DHS said any Afghan national who came to America under humanitarian parole through Operation Allies Welcome (OAW), which allowed vulnerable Afghans to resettle in the U.S. as the Taliban took over, will be eligible to apply for re-parole in June.
However, each request will be reviewed on a “case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons and significant public benefit,” the release said.
Immigrant advocate groups and veterans who have been working alongside the government trying to find a more permanent pathway for Afghans called the move a Band-Aid — but better than nothing.
“Afghans have been languishing on our shores awaiting a long-term answer, and Congress continues to play games with their future,” said Shawn Van Diver, a Navy veteran and head of #AfghanEvac, a coalition supporting Afghan resettlement efforts. But he said he was happy the Biden administration would allow them to stay, as Congress can’t find a solution.
Congress has been unable to advance the proposed Afghan Adjustment Act, which would provide 80,000 Afghans who fled Afghanistan in 2021 a path to citizenship in the U.S.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress had hoped to resolve their immigration status as part of a year-end government funding package in December. The proposal would have enabled them to apply for U.S. citizenship come August, when their temporary status was set to expire, as was done for other refugees from other nations in the past, including those from Cuba, Vietnam and Iraq.
But that effort failed over some Republican opposition, most notably from Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who argued last year the bill went too far by including evacuees beyond those “who were our partners over the last 20 years,” and providing a road to residency without the proper screening required.
Some lawmakers are hopeful that with advanced screening measures added to the bill, it can gain the support needed to pass a Republican-controlled House and a slim Democratic majority in the Senate.
The release also said Afghan nationals in the U.S. should pursue the permanent status in the U.S. that they are eligible for.
It states that DHS will start hosting Afghan Support Centers on May 17 to provide information about immigration and social services available to the refugees. The first location will be in Phoenix, and others will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
