The Trump administration has extended temporary protection for nearly 7,000 Syrians living in the US as war continues to ravage the country.
The Syrians were shielded from deportation under a humanitarian programme, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) despite the President cancelling TPS programmes for various countries in recent months, affecting immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua.
Syrians already living and working in the US, will have their TPS extended for another 18 months but Syrians who entered the country after August 2016 will be excluded from the programme as the extension does not apply to any new or recent applicants from Syria.
TPS was established in 1990, allowing immigrants from countries deemed unsafe to lawfully live and work in the US.
It is used by hundreds of thousands of people from 10 designated countries that have been hit by problems such as natural disasters or civil conflicts.
“It is clear that the conditions upon which Syria’s designation was based continue to exist, therefore an extension is warranted under the statute.
“We will continue to determine each country’s TPS status on a country-by-country basis,” Secretary of Homeland (DHS) Security, Kirstjen M Nielsen said.
Earlier this month, DHS announced it would end protected status for 262,500 Salvadorians with an 18-month delay.
In November, the administration said the status for Haitians and Nicaraguans would also end in 2019.
How Syrians resettle in the US
The process for a Syrian refugee to resettle in the US is long and difficult, involving numerous Federal Agencies and intense background checks.
Compared to Europe, where fingerprints and simple information are taken and migrants can resettle with little difficulty, US processes appear very different and are much stricter. So what are the steps?
Leaving home & arrival at UNHCR refugee camp
As cities, town and villages have been overrun, millions of Syrians have become displaced both internally and externally.
But to be eligible for permanent resettlement in another country, displaced persons have to leave Syria and find a camp run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in a neighbouring country where only the most basic living conditions are offered.
Upon arrival at the camp, the displaced person registers as a refugee and is given the option to apply for resettlement.
Nothing is guaranteed at this point as not every refugee will be referred, by the UNHCR for resettlement.
Refugees are allowed to express interest in particular countries, but the decision on resettlement is ultimately at the UNHCR’s discretion.
UNHCR referral for resettlement
The UNHCR then determines which refugees for whom resettlement makes sense. Those refugees get recommended to the programme in the US.
The State Department takes over after a referral is made from the UNHCR, and the Department of Homeland Security decides whether an individual’s application is approved.
Certain indicators for why a refugee may be recommended for the US programme include if he or she has a relative in the US or whether it is likely he or she will be welcomed by a certain community.
“With Syrians, we’ve benefitted from years of experience in vetting Iraqi refugee applicants. The screening is “robust since large-scale Iraqi processing in 2007,” a senior Obama administration official said.
Vetting process with US begins
If a refugee is cleared to be considered by the US, the process for approval is lengthy, about 18-24 months.
Refugees are admitted at about 50% acceptance rate after being subjected to “the most rigorous screening of any traveller to the US.”
That involves extensive in-person interviews about their experiences with conflict as well as the collection of both biometric and biographic information that is cross-checked with the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and in some cases, the Department of Defence.
Resettlement
With up to 10,000 persons being referred for resettlement in the US, many application are yet to be processed.
After 18-24 months, a refugee may then be sent to his or her new community.
There are about 9 organisations that work with the Federal Government to place refugees across the US.
There are about 4,289,792 registered Syrian refugees around the world, with up to 2,370 Syrian refugees in the US since October 2001.
