Extension of TPS Without Redesignation Sends Newly Arrived Somalis Back to Al-Shabab

From the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (http://www.interfaithimmigration.org):

Secretary Nielsen Fails to Protect Vulnerable TPS Holders Yet Again

Washington, D.C. – Church World Service joins Somali TPS holders and their families in welcoming the 18-month extension for the 250 beneficiaries of this designation, but we are gravely disappointed by Secretary Nielsen’s decision not to redesignate Somalia for TPS. This
decision denies protection to recently-arrived Somalis, who will be forced to return home to disrupted and dangerous living conditions.

“The administration’s actions toward Somalia show there is no coherent immigration policy toward the vulnerable,” said Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO of CWS. “By extending TPS for Somalis already in the US, Secretary Nielsen acknowledged there is a genuine humanitarian crisis in Somalia. However, the administration is also responsible for all but halting the arrival of Somali refugees. It is time for Secretary Nielsen to restore our nation’s compassion and act in accordance with American’s long tradition of being a beacon of hope for the persecuted and the vulnerable.”

Since Somalia’s original designation in 1991, the country has continued to suffer from war and acts of terror, inter- and intra-clan fighting, and famine. In the last extension of TPS for Somalia, the U.S. government characterized the country’s condition as “a complex protracted emergency that is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.” Conditions are not meaningfully improved today.

There are over 1.5 million people internally displaced in Somalia and nearly 900,000 refugees in the region. In a country where over 40 percent of the population is in dire need of humanitarian assistance, safe return to Somalia is impossible at this time. Failure to redesignate Somalia abandons the protective purpose of the TPS program. CWS calls on the administration and Congress to support legislation that would protect all TPS holders being forced back into dangerous and horrific conditions, like that of Somalia.