Lawmakers push for citizenship pathway for Afghan refugees

Hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at the perimeter of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 16, 2021. The nearly 12 months since the chaotic end to the U.S. war in Afghanistan ...A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation aimed at introducing a pathway to citizenship for thousands of refugees admitted to the U.S. under temporary immigration status amid the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.

The bill, introduced in the Senate on Tuesday, would also improve and expand the process for obtaining Special Immigrant Visas, a problem-plagued program designed for Afghans who assisted the United States throughout the…