American media reported that the decision to end the status that allowed Syrians to legally reside and work in the United States for more than a decade comes as part of a broader White House move aimed at expanding the categories of immigrants eligible for deportation. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security explained that this decision is based on its assessment that “conditions have improved and no longer prevent its citizens from safely returning to their homeland,” according to Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin.
Syrians covered by this decision were only given a 60-day grace period to leave the United States “voluntarily,” with a warning that anyone remaining after this period will face detention and immediate deportation. The termination of protection for Syrians represents the latest episode in ending special status for several nationalities, as temporary protection for tens of thousands from Venezuela, Honduras, Haiti, and Nicaragua had previously been revoked, after the number of beneficiaries of this program had jumped to more than a million during the administration of former President Joe Biden.
In parallel with the decision concerning Syrians, the Trump administration requested permission from the U.S. Supreme Court, in an urgent order submitted on Friday, to revoke legal protection from deportation for more than 300,000 Venezuelan migrants. The Justice Department’s request seeks to suspend a ruling issued by Federal Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco, which stated that the administration wrongly terminated the temporary protection status for Venezuelans.
The Federal Appeals Court in San Francisco had rejected the administration’s request to suspend Judge Chen’s ruling while considering the case, prompting the administration to turn to the Supreme Court as a last resort. It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court had overturned a previous order from Judge Chen affecting the status of 350,000 Venezuelans last May, without providing any explanation, which is a customary procedure in urgent requests.
