More than 100 Democrats urge Trump officials to restore deportation relief for Afghans in the US

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

June 4, 2025 2:57 PM EDT Updated 4 hours ago


WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - A group of 101 Democratic lawmakers is urging top Trump administration officials to restore deportation protections for thousands of Afghans in the U.S., warning they would be sent back to "devastating humanitarian and economic conditions" in Afghanistan. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the lawmakers called on the administration to restore access to the Temporary Protected Status program for Afghans, saying women and children could face particular harm under the Taliban-led government in place since 2021.

"The grave conditions that forced Afghan nationals to flee and seek refuge in the U.S. following the return of the Taliban to power remain," the lawmakers said. "Because of this harsh reality, forcing Afghan nationals in the U.S. to return to Afghanistan would be reckless and inhumane, and would threaten the safety and well-being of thousands of individuals and families, especially women and girls."

The effort is being led by U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, Representative Glenn Ivey and Senator Amy Klobuchar. TPS provides deportation relief and work permits to people already in the U.S. if their home countries experience a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in April that it would terminate TPS for Afghans and formally announced the termination in a May notice. The notice said that Noem had determined conditions in Afghanistan had improved enough to allow Afghans to return and that letting them stay in the U.S. would be contrary to national interests. The decision to end TPS - set to take effect July 14 - has sparked concern among Afghans depending on the status.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/100-democrats-urge-trump-officials-restore-deportation-relief-afghans-us-2025-06-04/

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Link to LETTER (PDF) - https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_secretaries_noem_and_rubio_on_tps_for_afghanistan1.pdf

[Igel]

1. I'm not good with people.

I don't get them. I often want to buy a t-shirt but figure if I wore it on t-shirt days at work I'd be fired. I teach high school. "I don't understand stupid people, perhaps I should take one apart to see how it works." (Sadly, the ones that have dinosaur ripping somebody to pieces is ... No readily searchable.)

Yet even I get that if you insult, castigate, ridicule, humiliate, sh*t on somebody then say, "Hey, how's about you do me a solid" at best means solid sh*t dropped on you.

I learned when in stu-gov at a school that had shared governance that "shared" was important in "governance." If I stood there and screamed and wet my pants at everything I disliked--and just ignored those things that were okay, at least--I'd quickly find myself gagged, bound, hoisted and screwed. Some stu-gov officers were into that kind of bondage. Me, not so much. Yes, I could claim self-righteous moral virtue, but, you know, I wouldn't think it felt good and it wouldn't help anybody in any way that wasn't purely ideological. So at times I voted for a minor evil because I wanted to change something that the other side--faculty or admin--thought bad. I curried favor and helped with admin initiatives that I didn't need to. But in the end when I had the political capital, I dropped a load on them. Cost them millions of dollars, but kept many hundreds of grad/prof students from needing to find market-rate housing for their families 6 weeks before the end of the school year when they would be kicked out of grad/professional housing. When at least one family member was facing finals, at the least--if not comps--in a very tough housing market. I was told off by two VCs and the chancellor, but won. The VC capital improvements guy was especially abusive. I didn't talk to them--I simply played the system. I sent a letter of demands to the chancellor. Before he even saw it, protocol dictated that it get sent to way over a dozen other admin officers. Including the student newspaper. (Top dogs were upset. But years later when I needed letters of recommendation, I turned to lower-ranked administrators, by then promoted. "Hi, you may not remember me ..." was followed by a long response ... I played along, got along, and got crap done.)

TACO feels good. But when I hear or read it, I think Tico-Tico. As in the link I'd like to stay as a hyperlink but can't get it to work. https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=k6Nw0Hm_wTM Paste that, get rid of the space beween .com and /watch