Afghan refugees in US to receive temporary protected status

WASHINGTON (AP) — Afghan refugees in the U.S. will be allowed to stay for at least 18 months under temporary protected status, a move that’ll help some of the thousands who arrived following the American withdrawal from their country.

The Afghans must already be in the U.S. and pass a background check. The program is intended to help thousands evacuated to the U.S. under a short-term status known as humanitarian parole as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday the TPS designation “will help to protect Afghan nationals” from returning to unsafe conditions. Many Afghans have settled in Virginia and the surrounding Washington, D.C., area; California; and Texas.

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