The Biden administration will significantly increase the number of work permits available to Afghan nationals living in the United States on parole, including some of those rescued during the Kabul withdrawal in 2021.

The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday afternoon that it would renew its Temporary Protected Status designation for Afghanistan, allowing illegal immigrants from that country to apply for protection from deportation and obtain work permits on the basis that their home country is not in a stable position to repatriate them.

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“Today’s announcement to extend and redesignate TPS for Afghanistan allows us to continue to offer safety and protection to Afghan nationals who are unable to return to their country,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a statement. “DHS will continue to support Afghan nationals through this temporary form of humanitarian relief.”

The 3,100 current beneficiaries of TPS will be allowed to retain their status through May 20, 2025. In addition, approximately 14,600 Afghan nationals are also now eligible to apply for TPS because they entered the United States during the current designation.

"Afghan nationals who were granted parole under Operation Allies Welcome, or re-parole, may apply for and receive TPS, if eligible," the Department of Homeland Security said in its announcement.

Mayorkas cited the "serious threat posed by ongoing armed conflict; lack of access to food, clean water and healthcare; and destroyed infrastructure, internal displacement and economic instability" as the basis for his decision.

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In August and September 2021, the Biden administration hastily evacuated all U.S. military from Afghanistan and also brought onto U.S. planes tens of thousands of Afghans who showed up at the Kabul airport, desperate to leave amid the impending Taliban takeover.

The large majority of people evacuated, approximately 75%, were not American citizens, green card holders, Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders, or applicants for the visa. The Biden administration failed to vet the information tens of thousands of Afghans provided through in-person interviews and relied solely on criminal and terrorist databases to flag bad actors.