WASHINGTON: The US government has asked thousands of migrants living in the country on temporary status to either obtain permanent legal residency or voluntarily return to their home countries.
Speaking in an interview with CNN’s State of the Union, Homeland Security Secretary Mark Van Mullen said temporary immigration status is not a substitute for permanent legal residency and advised affected migrants to take immediate steps to regularise their status.
He added that the government would assist eligible migrants who choose to return home by providing airfare as well as approximately $2,100 in financial assistance to help them restart their lives.
The statement follows a recent US Supreme Court ruling that allowed the Trump administration to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for migrants from Haiti and Syria. The programme had protected them from deportation due to ongoing conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian crises in their home countries.
Under US law, Temporary Protected Status can be granted to nationals of countries affected by war, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions.
Haitian nationals received the protection after the devastating 2010 earthquake, while Syrians became eligible following the outbreak of civil war in 2012.
