Biden Admin Extends Temporary Amnesty to Thousands of Somalis Living in U.S.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has renewed Temporary Protected Status (TPS). SomaliaThis allows more than 2,600 Somalian nationals to remain in America for another 18-months.

A country may be designated as TPS in certain circumstances, such a civil war, natural disaster or other circumstances that prevent its citizens returning safely. This status is currently granted by the DHS. 16 countriesUkraine, which has been in an extensive armed conflict since February 2022.

Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security Secretary, said that Somalia has been re-designated for TPS by his department in light of the “ongoing conflict and the continuing humanitarian crisis” In the Horn-of-Africa Nation

According to DHS this will allow around 430 Somalis currently in the TPS Program to renew their work permits or deportation protections. As long as they meet all eligibility requirements for TPS, the DHS estimates that the program will also allow them to apply for new work permits. The program will also allow 2,200 additional eligible Somali immigrants to join.

“Through the extension and redesignation of Somalia for Temporary Protected Status, the United States will be able to offer safety and protection to Somalis who may not be able to return to their country, due to ongoing conflict and the continuing humanitarian crisis,” Mayorkas announced the decision in a statement. “We will continue to offer our support to Somali nationals through this temporary form of humanitarian relief.”

Although it was originally designed as a temporary humanitarian program, TPS could be a de facto permanent sanctuary that shields people of a certain nationality from deportation, as long as the DHS doesn’t let the country’s TPS designation expire.

The Trump administration has tried to terminate several countries’ TPS designation, emphasizing the fact that the program was never meant to be a permanent solution.

After visiting Haiti in June 2017, then-Homeland Security secretary John Kelly stated that he would not renew TPS benefits for the Caribbean country because the nation had made significant recovery and should be able handle the return of its citizens. Trump’s administration began to eliminate TPS benefits for people from Nicaragua, El Salvador and Nepal (which accounts for around 80 percent of TPS holders) over the next few months.

Several lawsuits challenged the terminations. One of these cases saw a California court issue a preliminary injunction blocking the terminations of TPS for Haiti Honduras and Nepal. It supported the accusation of racism. There are still some TPS-related lawsuits pending.

After taking office, the Biden administration renewed the TPS protections Trump attempted to end and granted the status of more countries. The Biden administration announced in November 2022 that TPS holders from El Salvador and Nicaragua will be fully protected until June 2024.

Bill Pan is a reporter at The Epoch Times.

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