
The Biden administration said Thursday that it is phasing out a program that aimed to give at-risk Afghans a quicker pathway to the U.S. through humanitarian relief but was criticized for its bureaucratic barriers and for ultimately leaving people's lives in legal limbo.
Instead, starting Oct. 1, the U.S. government said it would focus on beefing up efforts to help more Afghans get permanent U.S. residency rather than the temporary legal status of humanitarian parole, which allowed them to stay in the country for just two years.