U.S. extends protected status for Syrians for another 18 months

Syrian refugees arrive in the United States.
(Image credit: Joshua Lott/AFP/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced it is extending temporary protected status for some Syrians who fled civil war in their country.

Temporary protected status allows people from specific countries devastated by war or natural disaster to pay hundreds of dollars for permits that allow them to live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation. As of last October, about 7,000 Syrians were participating in the program, and NPR reports that about 2,000 Syrian visa holders do not fit the requirements and are not covered by this new 18-month extension.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.