As for green card holders, they have lived in the US for years, paid taxes, become part of their communities and often have children who are US citizens.
Doris Matsui, who has been working to free the family, tried to help them board a flight in Afghanistan.
Mohammad Faizi, a green card holder from the San Diego suburb of El Cajon, said he and his wife and five children were stopped by the Taliban at a checkpoint on their way to the airport.
Mike Jason, who runs an ad-hoc rescue operation called Allied Airlift 21, said his volunteer group has been in contact with 78 green card holders trapped in the country, but that the figure does not capture the scale of the problem.
Republican Rep.