SILVER SPRING, Maryland — On Friday, July 29, the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, announced that it would redesignate and extend Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Syria for 18 months. Syria was first granted TPS in 2012 at the start of the brutal civil war which has displaced at least 13 million Syrians.  

“We warmly welcome this decision to redesignate and extend TPS for Syrians living in the United States,” said Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. “While the world’s attention has regrettably faded from the Syrian conflict, we know that the war carries on and continues to wreak devastation that prevents millions of people from returning to their homes. As Catholics, we seek to follow Pope Francis’ call to resist the ‘globalization of indifference’ by continuing to extend welcome.” 

Conditions have only worsened in Syria since the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, especially given the growing food shortage exacerbated by the war. DHS expects this decision to offer legal protection to about 7,000 Syrians in the United States. 

“We commend DHS for their judgement to maintain this humanitarian protection for U.S.-based Syrians, given conditions on the ground,” continued Gallagher. “We urge the Biden administration to make similar judgements by reconsidering and redesignating TPS for Venezuela and designating TPS for Ethiopia and Mauritania — other countries where conditions are just as dire.”