Rachel Browning’s Legal Blog

The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the designation of Somalia for temporary protected status (TPS) for another 18 months, from its current expiration date of September 17, 2009 through March 17, 2011.  Somali nationals in the U.S. under TPS can re-register and extend their status, pending the U.S. government’s further review of the humanitarian situation in Somalia.

Section 244(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorizes the DHS Secretary, after consultation with appropriate agencies of the government, to designate a foreign State and its nationals for TPS.  TPS is an immigration status granted to eligible nationals of certain countries for a specific period.  During this period, TPS beneficiaries are eligible to remain in the United States and may obtain work authorization, so long as they continue to meet the terms and conditions of their TPS status. Unlike other forms of temporary relief, the granting of TPS does not lead to permanent resident status.  When the Secretary terminates a country’s TPS designation, beneficiaries must return to the same immigration status they maintained before TPS, unless that status has since expired or been terminated.  In the event their prior status has expired, or they were out of status, they must return to their country of origin.

Somalia’s Initial Designation for TPS

On September 16, 1991, the Attorney General initially designated Somalia for TPS due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions within the country. The Attorney General has since extended TPS for Somalia nine times, determining in each instance that the conditions warranting the designation continued to be met.

On September 4, 2001, the Attorney General re-designated Somalia for TPS, again, based on ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions within Somalia, which had worsened. Since that date, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security have extended the TPS designation of Somalia six times based on determinations that the conditions warranting the designation continued to be met.

Current Humanitarian Conditions in Somalia

Somalia remains in a state of turmoil, brought upon by the lack of central government; a crippled economy, the absence of or destruction of civil institutions and infrastructure; and generalized insecurity in the form of banditry, kidnapping, looting, revenge killings, targeted assassinations, suicide car-bombings, and inter-clan fighting.  Humanitarian efforts have been hindered by routine, targeted attacks on humanitarian workers countrywide.  In 2007, 6,500 civilians were killed. An additional 2,136 civilians were killed in the first half of 2008. Almost 750,000 people fled Mogadishu to escape the fighting between April and July 2008. Between January and August 2008, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance increased 77 percent, from 1.8 million to 3.2 million people. The intensifying conflict, drought, increased food prices, the targeting of humanitarian workers, and growing piracy off the Somali coast have exacerbated the humanitarian toll on the Somali people.

            Eligibility for Temporary Protected Status – Somalia

An alien who is a national of a country (or alien having no nationality who last habitually resided in that country) designated for TPS is eligible to apply for TPS benefits if he or she:

·         Can establish the requisite continuous physical presence and continuous residence in the U.S. as specified by each country’s designation;

·         Is not subject to one of the criminal, security-related, or other bars to TPS; and

·         Timely applies for TPS benefits.  In addition, if the DHS Secretary extends TPS designation beyond the initial designation period, the beneficiary must timely re-register to maintain his or her TPS benefits under the TPS program.

·         An alien is not eligible for TPS if he or she:

o   Has been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States;

o   Is a persecutor, or otherwise subject to one of the bars to asylum; or

o   Is subject to one of several criminal-related or terrorism-related grounds of inadmissibility for which a waiver is not available.

For more specific information relating to TPS eligibility, or for other immigration-related issues, contact the experienced immigration attorneys of Garg & Associates for assistance.