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Opinion: A lesson out of Afghanistan is how easily and quickly politicians turn their backs on those who help us when they're no longer useful.

Biden stands by decision to pull troops from Afghanistan

In his first speech since the Taliban's return to Afghanistan's capital, President Biden defended his decision to remove U.S. troops from the country.

STAFF VIDEO, USA TODAY

One of the many lessons fromAfghanistans disastrous pullout is how easily and quickly politicians turn their backs on those literally clinging to life when theyre no longer useful.

Its painfully clear thatPresident Joe Biden opted to leave behind the Afghans who worked alongside Americans many left to a certain death at the hands of the Taliban.

And in that case,what chance do asylum seekers from anywhere really have if American politicians are always ready to throw them as red meat to their base?

Cue the MAGA folks, who initially expressed fake outrage at the unfolding human drama, turned their backs on the Afghan people and went after Bidens head over the tragic end to the 20-year war with Afghanistan.

Biden is now scrambling to get U.S. allies out, but mostly as a means to quiet the political storm that could weakenhis presidency and threaten his domesticproposals.

It pains me to see that the Afghans who helped the U.S. fight a war staged in direct response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks didnt first get the chance to take refuge in America.

If America turnstheir backs on them, what can we expect for Central Americans, many of whom are also fleeing for their lives? Not much unless their suffering can be turned into a border security (and election) weapon.

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Caught between all the competing political fighting is another group of refugees that are desperately trying to call attention to their plight those with Temporary Protected Status,or TPS.

The U.S. has granted the status to those who cant return to their country because of armed conflict or environmental disasters like earthquakes or hurricanes.

They includesome 400,000 foreign nationals from El Salvador, Sudan, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela and other countries who face an uncertain future if the U.S. Senate doesnt approve immigration reform through a budget reconciliation plan.

Some Democrats are pushing to include legalization for TPS holders, farmworkers and the young immigrants known as Dreamers.

Unlike the Dreamers whove gotten a lot of attention and support from Republicans and Democrats, TPS holders are often relegated to footnotes of the political discussion, though many of them have been here for decades.

Claudia Lanez is one of them. Her life and her work on behalf of TPS holders crystallizes the difficult task to get anyones attention, let alone U.S. senators like Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly.

Lanez tells me she was 17 when she left El Salvador in 1994, shortly afterthe countrys civil war ended. She remained in the United States illegally until she got Temporary Protected Status in 2001.

That status allowed her to work legally mostly as a veterinarian assistant in Oakland, Calif., where she lives. But her life has been a rollercoaster, having to constantly renew her immigration status just like the Dreamers.

This is my home. I just want to stay. I want everyone under TPS to stay, Lanez, whos now an organizer for the National TPS Alliance, toldme.

The TPS holders predicament is indeed dire. Former President Donald Trump ended the program in 2020 and it has been litigated in court ever since.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruledthat federal law protects these immigrants from deportation and that they can still work. But the justices also said that law doesnt give TPS holders who came to the country illegallythe right to get permanent legal status.

That takes us back to the desperate efforts to get Congress to act. The House-approved legalization package for Dreamers, farmworkers and TPS is stalled in the 50-50 split Senate.

At this point there are only two ways to get any type of immigration reform done. Get rid of the 60-vote threshold known as the filibuster to pass legislation with a simple majority or through the budget reconciliationplan.

Sinema is at the center of both pathways. She supports neither ending the filibuster nor the price tag of the budget plan to which Democrats hope to tack on immigration.

Kelly has already indicated hes open to discussing immigration as part of the budget. We have yet to hear from Sinema about that.

Lanez isnt given up on Sinema. Shes in Phoenix, where shell be holding community meetings to find Arizona TPS holders who could possibly soften Sinemas heart.

My heart goes out to people like Lanez and the Afghan people who dont have the luxury to give up on the politicians who often use the predicament of refugees for their own political gain.

Elvia Daz is an editorial columnistfor The Republic and azcentral.Reach her at 602-444-8606 orelvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter,@elviadiaz1.

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If America turns its back on Afghans, what hope is there for refugees already here? - The Arizona Republic