US President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday said that Somalians granted special immigration status in the US could keep the designation, making them one of only a few groups permitted to stay in the US under a program that has allowed them to remain there for years.
Somalia was first designated for the special status in 1991, following the collapse of the authoritarian regime of then-Somalian president Mohamed Siad Barre, and the designation was extended in part because nationals feared returning because of the ongoing armed conflict there.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen cited the armed conflict and other extraordinary conditions in support of the continuation of Somalia’s designation for about 500 people.
However, the administration is to not take on new applicants, disappointing advocacy groups. Those already with the status are to be able to remain in the US and will be allowed to work through March 17, 2020.
Many Somalians have settled in Minnesota, which has the largest Somalian population in the US.
Community and immigration advocates have said that returning to Somalia would be a death sentence for some and that it would separate families.
Democratic Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton on Tuesday wrote a letter to Trump urging him to extend the special status.
The conditions in Somalia are treacherous, Dayton said in the letter, pointing to a recent US Department of State advisory that tells people to avoid traveling to Somalia because of crime, terrorism and piracy.
The advisory said that those who do travel to Somalia should draft a will before traveling, name a family member to be a point of contact in the event of a hostage situation and leave a DNA sample in case it is needed to identify remains.
Advocates for Somalian nationals who are living in the US on Thursday said that they were relieved that about 500 Somalians would be able to reregister to extend their protected status for 18 months, but were disappointed that the administration did not do more.
If the administration would have redesignated the status instead of just extending it, more than 1,000 Somalian nationals could have enrolled, the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said.
About 437,000 immigrants from 10 countries have had temporary protected status, a designation created in 1990 to grant people from countries ravaged by natural disasters, such as earthquakes or anthropogenic disasters, such as war, a short-term safe haven.
Those with the status have generally been able to work and, with permission, travel outside the US and return.
While some countries have been removed, others have stayed on for years, which critics have said turns the program into default amnesty.
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