As Congressional Republicans prepare to use their mandate to combat President Obama’s executive order on immigration, the agency at the heart of the tug-of-war extended a similar policy on Monday to little fanfare.
The Department of Homeland Security agreed to extending Syrians’ temporary protected status by 18-months–a move designed to give additional reprieve to victims of a vicious civil war.
Syrian nationals first granted the designation in 2012 and 2013 have two months to re-apply for their status, which is now set to expire on Sept. 30, 2016. Syrians without the privilege will be able to apply for it until early July.
Republicans have decried the President’s November executive order on temporary deportation relief to certain undocumented immigrants as “rogue” and an “illegal amnesty,” and only agreed to fund DHS until February as a result. As of publication, however, none have decried President Obama’s decision to grant a safe haven to innocent Syrians. Many Republicans have called on the administration to grant additional protection to Syrian and Iraqi Christians.
Advocates for relaxed laws on immigration have pointed out that many undocumented immigrants from Latin America have come to the US for a similar reason as war refugees, albeit on a smaller scale. Between 2006 and 2012 in Mexico alone, it is estimated that 60,000 people were murdered by activity related to narcotics prohibition. Last summer, about 52,000 undocumented children from Central American states plagued by drug violence–including Honduras, a country ruled by a Washington-backed junta–sought asylum in the US.
According to Politico, House Republicans could bring up a bill in January to block the President’s executive order on immigration. It stands virtually no chance of ever being signed into law by the Obama administration.
