URGENT REQUEST
from Neighbors for Refugees:
Protect Afghan allies’ right to work (comment by August 4)
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed rule, “Clarification of Discretionary Employment Authorization for Certain Aliens” (Docket USCIS-2026-0067), would let the government strip work authorization from people paroled into the United States, including the Afghan allies this country evacuated after the fall of Kabul.
These are people the United States flew here, vetted, and welcomed. Taking away their ability to work legally (Employment Authorization Document or EAD) does not make anyone safer. It pushes vetted allies out of their jobs, off their leases, and into crisis, and it shifts the cost onto the communities and employers that depend on them.
Individuals or organizations can submit a comment opposing the rule before August 4.
Stop the asylum “no-interview” rule (comment by September 28)
On July 28, DHS put into effect an interim final rule, “Affirmative Asylum Referrals Without Interview” (Docket USCIS-2026-0199). For the first time, it lets USCIS (U.S. Customs and Immigration Service) asylum officers send an affirmative asylum case to immigration court without ever interviewing the applicant, deciding it on the paperwork alone.
The asylum interview is often the only chance a person gets to explain, in their own words, why they fled and what waits for them if they are sent back. Take it away and the government can move someone toward deportation without ever hearing their story. Many Afghans who came through Operation Allies Welcome filed affirmative asylum claims. This rule reaches them.
It is already in effect, but the comment window is open, and public comments are how rules like this get challenged and changed.
Pass H.R. 9899 · Afghanistan TPS Act of 2026
The Afghanistan TPS Act would designate Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status through July 1, 2029, restoring protection from deportation and the right to work for the vetted Afghan allies already living in the United States. It is bipartisan, and it is moving.
From ACLU:
The Dream and Promise Act – a bill creating a pathway to citizenship for millions of people who have built a life in this country, and are American in every way but on paper. We’re fighting to put an end to the terror that the Trump administration’s mass deportation machine has created.
Visibilities & Rallies
STRONGER TOGETHER VISIBILITY
Standing with our Immigrant Neighbors
4pm to 5 pm (Please note in case of extreme weather, the visibility may be cancelled)
Corner of North Main St. & Loudon Road, Concord
The vigil is followed by a meeting of the Immigrant Solidarity Network at a secure location. Contact Martin Toe for more information: MToe@granitestateorganizing.org
Nashua Immigrant Solidarity Visibility
Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Nashua Aug 17, 5:00:pm