Immigrants in US from six countries on temporary status get nine-month extension

The US government on Wednesday said it has allowed immigrants from six countries to get a nine-month extension to live in the country. This comes as the Trump administration continues its efforts to end the programme that gives migrants from war-torn countries legal status to live in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security on December 9 announced in a notice that the temporary status of the immigrants from six countries has been extended for nine months. 

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Extension until Oct 2021

The extension will impact at least 3,00,000 migrants living in the United States under the Temporary Protected Status programme. It applies to immigrants from countries including, El Salvador, Haiti, Nepal, Sudan, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The extension will now officially expire on October 4, 2021, as opposed to the previously set date of January 4, 2021. 

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The DHS said that the appellate court ruling which lifted the injunction that blocked the government from ending TPS for the above-mentioned countries has not been officially communicated to the district court to make it effective, which has forced the administration to extend the residency status. 

Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden has promised to look into the matter once he takes over on January 20. Biden has also said that he will pursue legislation that will allow long-term residents of TPS to seek citizenship in the United States. 

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According to reports, more than 4,00,000 people from 10 countries are currently living in the United States under the TPS programme. Most of these TPS beneficiaries are from El Salvador, which suffered a devastating earthquake in 2001 and displaced thousands of people. Many of the beneficiaries now have wives and children who are US citizens and it remains to be seen how the courts in the country will look at those individuals.  

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(Image Credit: AP)