President Joe Biden has extended a temporary amnesty program for nearly 7,000 Syrian nationals living in the United States.
On Friday, Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to 6,700 Syrian nationals in the U.S. who would otherwise be eligible for deportation.
The renewal of TPS for Syrians means those who meet particular requirements can stay in the U.S. until September 2022, when the program must be renewed again by DHS. Despite supposedly being temporary, TPS for Syrians has been in effect since March 2012 due to “armed conflict, environmental disasters, and extraordinary and temporary conditions” in the region.
The Obama administration extended TPS for Syrians in 2015 and 2016 before the Trump administration extended the program twice as well.
TPS has become a quasi-amnesty for foreign nationals created under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990 (INA), which prevents their deportation to countries that have suffered famine, war, or natural disasters. Since the Clinton administration, TPS has been transformed into a de facto amnesty program as the Bush, Obama, Trump, and now Biden administrations have continuously renewed the program for a variety of countries.
Most recently, on his way out of office, former President Trump implemented a similar quasi-amnesty for at least 94,000 Venezuelan nationals living in the U.S. That program, called Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), will last for 18 months until the Biden administration can renew or end it.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com.