As the two-year anniversary of the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan nears, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are taking another stab at passing legislation that would put Afghan evacuees on a path to citizenship. But the Senate, where the discussion about helping thousands of Afghan evacuees is focused, appears divided after senators offered two competing measures last week — one bipartisan and one Republican-led.

Bipartisan groups of lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and the Senate reintroduced the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA) last week. The bill, similar to a version introduced in the last Congress, would fix a problem that will only get more urgent: tens of thousands of Afghans who were evacuated or fled to the United States (or were stranded here) when the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban retook control in 2021 have no viable way to apply for permanent legal status in the U.S., leaving them in limbo.

The Afghan consul in Karachi, Abdul Jabar Takhari, has said over 2.5 million Afghan immigrants are currently staying in Pakistan. He said 300,000 immigrants lack legal documents. He said his government is trying to address the challenges of Afghanistan people in Pakistan. A large number of Afghanistan people escaped the country after Taliban took control of it in 2021. "The total number of immigrants who have legal documents with them in Pakistan is 2,106,658,” the Afghan consul in Karachi was quoted as saying by Tolo News. Pakistan's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations said that his country cannot host Afghan refugees from now on.

The Afghan Adjustment Act aims to fulfill the promise made to Afghan allies who risked their lives to support the United States’ mission in Afghanistan. By allowing Afghans to seek permanent legal residency, the legislation aims to provide them with a sense of security and stability in their new lives.

They fled the Taliban in search of safety and peace, only to discover that leaving everything behind and starting over can also be a dark road to travel. Golshan Mosleh, 43, was the head of plans and programs at the ministry of interior of Afghanistan before August 2021 when the Taliban took over her country.

In her long career as an Afghan judge, Sara helped lock up scores of Taliban militants for deadly attacks, ranging from bomb blasts to assassinations - now freed from jail, they have vowed to hunt her down. "When the Taliban seized power, they opened the prison gates. I've lived every day since then in panic and fear," Sara told Context from a secret location where she lives with her children and husband. Sara is among dozens of women judges in hiding since the hardline Islamist group seized control of Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021.