Biden renews deportation protections for Syrians in US
09:36, 30/01/2021, SaturdayU: Update: 09:44, 30/01/2021, Saturday
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US President Joe Biden
6,700 eligible Syrians in US to have protections extended through September 2022, Department of Homeland Security says
US President Joe Biden extended Friday deportation protections for thousands of Syrians currently in the US.
The 6,700 eligible Syrian nationals are currently recipients of what is known as Temporary Protected Status, a program that allows migrants to live and work in the US as long as their country is not safe to live in. Their eligibility in the program has been extended through September 2022, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
The protections can be extended to nationals whose home countries have been affected by natural disasters, armed conflict or other extraordinary but temporary conditions.
Syria has been ravaged by a conflict that began in 2011.
The extension stands in stark contrast to former US President Donald Trump's immigration policies, which sought to curtail both legal and illegal migration to the US.
Biden is expected to roll out his wider immigration overhaul on Tuesday.