Friday July 20, 2018
The Latest on the Trump administration's decision to extend protected status for Somalis (all times local):
6 p.m.
Advocates for Somali nationals who are living in the United States say they are disappointed that the Trump administration chose to extend — and not redesignate — a special protected status for Somalis.
The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday it would renew temporary protected status for about 500 people because of armed conflict and other extraordinary conditions.
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the International Rescue Committee and Muslim Advocates all say they are relieved that about 500 Somalis will be able to re-register to extend their protected status for 18 months. But they say that if the administration would have redesignated the status, more than 1,000 Somali nationals could have enrolled.
The International Rescue Committee says extending the status sends a signal that the administration recognizes Somalia is unsafe, but failing to redesignate the status leaves some Somalis at risk.
4:51 p.m.
The Trump administration is continuing the special immigration status granted for nearly two decades to people from Somalia.
The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that it would renew temporary protected status for about 500 people because of armed conflict and other extraordinary conditions.
As many as 437,000 immigrants affected by extreme violence or disaster had the status, which allowed them to work. DHS has discontinued the status for nearly all the groups, including Honduras, El Salvador, Sudan, Nicaragua and Haiti. The department recently continued the special immigration status for Yemen.
President Donald Trump's supporters note the protections were never meant to be permanent.
Many Somalis have settled in Minnesota. Community and immigration advocates have said returning to Somalia would be a death sentence for some and would separate families.