FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 31, 2018
CONTACT: media@cwsglobal.org
CWS Affirms DHS Secretary Nielsen’s Decision to Extend TPS for Syrians for 18 Months, Expresses Deep Concern for Recently-Arrived Syrians
Today’s announcement ignores pleas to re-designate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria to protect Syrians who traveled to the U.S. since August 1, 2016
Washington, D.C. – As CWS welcomes the 18-month extension DHS Secretary Nielsen granted Syrian TPS holders in the United States, we denounce the administration’s decision to not re-designate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria. Earlier this month, nearly 300 religious leaders and faith-based organizations called on Secretary Nielsen to re-designate and extend TPS for Syria for at least another 18 months. As communities of faith prayed for compassion in Secretary Nielsen’s discernment process, the administration ignored basic principles of mercy and care for the innocent and vulnerable by failing to protect more recently-arrived Syrians.
At least 5,800 Syrian TPS holders live in the United States today. Syria was first designated for TPS in 2012, as the civil war plaguing the nation made — and still continues to make — country conditions unlivable and dangerously unsafe. The world watched in horror as children like Omran Daqneesh were pulled from rubble after a rocket attack and other disaster scenes. It was a credit to our nation’s compassionate humanitarian policies that at the time Syria was designated for TPS, protecting thousands of Syrians already in the United States from being returned to life-threatening harm. Since then, TPS has been routinely re-designated and extended for Syrians to reflect the ongoing need to protect those who continue to arrived in the U.S. from being returned to harm.
Today, the United States took a step away from that compassion. It is beyond cruel to ship mothers, fathers, and children to a country engaged in the seventh year of a civil war defined by brutality and torture. The Syrians who arrived since August 1, 2016 are no less vulnerable to harm if returned than the families who arrived before then and are protected by TPS. The deadline for DHS to decide whether to re-designate and extend TPS for Syrians was January 30, 2018 – forcing Syrian TPS holders to wait beyond that deadline drives anxiety and confusion for the community.
To be sure, TPS is a program designed to protect people from being returned to natural disaster, armed conflict, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. As the administration continues its attacks against our immigrant neighbors, CWS urges Congress to do everything in its power to support a permanent, legislative solution for all TPS holders to protect them from family separation and deportation.
The interfaith letter is available here: bit.ly/FaithSyriaTPSLetter.
Since 1946, Church World Service has supported refugees, immigrants and other displaced individuals, in addition to providing sustainable relief and development solutions to communities that wrestle with hunger and poverty. Learn more about our work and join our global homebase for refugee solidarity at GreaterAs1.org.
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