US grants an 18-month extension of protected status for Sudanese nationals

December 30, 2009 (WASHINGTON) — The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will publish a notice on Thursday announcing the extension of a special status for certain Sudanese living in the US until November 2, 2011.

The notice signed by the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano justified the extension by saying that the “armed conflict [in Sudan] is ongoing, and the extraordinary and temporary conditions that prompted the October 7, 2004, re-designation persist”.

“In 2005, the government of Sudan (GOS) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The Government of National Unity was formed in September 2005, and a government of Southern Sudan was established in October 2005. However, the overall security situation in Sudan remains fragile and unpredictable. The CPA does not cover the Darfur region of Western Sudan” Napolitano stated in an advance copy of the notice obtained by Sudan Tribune.

“Attacks on villages in Darfur noticeably increased in 2008, with between 270,000 and 300,000 people displaced during the year. Despite the signing of a confidence-building agreement between the GOS and JEM and the scheduling of peace talks, fighting in Muhajeria and Shearia broke out in February 2009, driving over 15,000 people to Zam Zam Camp in the northern part of the war-torn area” the statement read.

“In Southern Sudan, violence has increased in comparison to 2008. Over the past year, the security situation has deteriorated. Between January and June 2009, more than 214,000 people were displaced within southern Sudan due to the conflict. Inter-ethnic and clan clashes and violence over land and cattle remain common. Over 1,000 people have died in such clashes this year. Death rates in Southern Sudan now outnumber those in Darfur”.

Following the publication of the notice in the Federal register on Thursday qualified Sudanese may file registration applications for TPS with USCIS during the 60 days registration period. The USCIS said it has published the notice earlier than usual to allow Sudanese re-registrants to apply and receive benefits before the current extension expires next May. As such the work authorizations for Sudanese nationals currently under TPS will not be automatically extended as it was in the past.

TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to nationals of designated countries as part of the US Immigration Act of 1990.

The US Congress established a procedure by which the Attorney General may provide TPS to aliens in the United States who are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, the temporary effects of an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.

During the period for which a country has been designated under the TPS program, the registrants are allowed to remain in the United States and obtain work authorization and may not be deported unless they commit certain crimes.
However TPS does not lead to permanent residence in the US which is better known as the ‘green card’. Several bills in the US Congress to grant permanent residence to some TPS beneficiaries have stalled.

Today the Los Angeles Times reported that the White House will push for immigration overhaul including provisions giving illegal immigrants a path for citizenship. Under Bush administration the failed Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill in 2007 would have allowed TPS beneficiaries an opportunity to be granted permanent residency.

Currently nationals of Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Somalia are also covered by the program.

Eligibility for TPS is limited to Sudanese nationals who entered the country on or before October 7, 2004. The immigration body states that an individual who has been convicted in the United States of either a felony or two or more misdemeanors is not eligible for TPS.

Sudan was initially designated for TPS in 1997 and was subsequently extended throughout the years. There are approximately 700 nationals of Sudan covered by the program currently.

(ST)