Approximately 500 Somalis who escaped terrorism and drought will be allowed to remain in the US until at least another 18 months, the US homeland security department said on Thursday.
Somalis in the United States with Temporary Protected Status will be able to re-register for an extension of their status through March 17, 2020, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security. The status grants beneficiaries the ability to legally work while they are in the United States considering the “ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary conditions” in Somalia.
Inspite of the escalating conflict with al-Shabaab, and the terrorist group’s targeting of people who return to the country, the US has dramatically increased deportations there since late 2016. In 2016, 198 Somalis were deported whise rose to 521 in 2017.
At least 90 Somali male and female were held shackled on an airplane in December for nearly 48 hours during a failed attempt to deport them from the US that went as far Dakar, Senegal, before returning to the US.
In the House and Senate there have been bipartisan efforts to foster the homeland security department to redesignate and enhance TPS for Somalia. Senators Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, sent a letter on Monday to the homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, and the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, urging them to extend the protection. The senators wrote: “Conditions in Somalia remain dire, and armed conflict continues to be a threat to the Somali people.”
> Shiuly Rina
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