At the end of January 2018, the Department of Homeland Security is set to make a decision on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria, a program that allows 6,900 Syrians to live and work legally in the United States.
Ahead of this decision, the Coalition for a Democratic Syria (of which the Syrian American Council is a member), the American Relief Coalition for Syria, and Americans for a Free Syria have been joined by over 50 human rights, immigration, advocacy, and faith groups and organizations in a coalition letter to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State calling for the extension and redesignation of TPS for Syria.
The letter explains: "The brutal war crimes and crimes against humanity, widespread arrests and repression, and starvation and medical deteriorations that Syrians inside the country are subjected to on a regular basis make the return of TPS beneficiaries untenable and tantamount to a death sentence."
A full text of the letter is available here.
This coalition letter occurs on the heels of a number of initiatives taken on by the Syrian American organizations and their allies on TPS, including but not limited to the submission of a legal petition to the Department of Homeland Security, congressional advocacy on TPS, grassroots education and awareness, and community and legal support for TPS-holders.
On Friday, January 19, 2018, a second letter calling for the extension and redesignation of TPS will be submitted to the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department by humanitarian organizations with operations on the ground.