TPS is set to expire for Syria on March 31, 2018. TPS is temporary protected status that is designated for countries that are experiencing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, extraordinary country conditions among others.
There are a number of civil rights groups including American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, who are fighting to make sure that TPS is re-designated and extended for Syrian nationals.
Over 500,000 people have been killed, 6 million are internally displaced and suffer from food insecurity in Syria. 2 million persons were displaced in 2017 alone, with 6,550 persons displaced a everyday due to violence. Currently there are approximately 6,900 Syrians with TPS status in the United States.
TPS for Syria should be a clear cut case because the ongoing war and armed conflict. However, as we have seen from work on TPS advocacy for all beneficiary countries, what makes logical sense and even legally required is not enough. More information about TPS for Syria can be found here.
Dear Secretary Nielsen and Secretary Tillerson:
We the undersigned human rights, immigration, and advocacy organizations write to you today to urge you to renew and redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrians in the United States. The current 6,900 Syrian TPS recipients are innovative entrepreneurs, dedicated teachers, and hardworking employees who contribute directly to our country's economy, enrich our national fabric, and reflect positively on our diverse social heritage.
In response to a mounting humanitarian crisis and the commission of egregious rights abuses, in March 2012, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) first designated Syria for TPS on the basis that "there exist extraordinary and temporary conditions in Syria that prevent Syrian nationals from returning in safety, and that permitting such aliens to remain temporarily in the United States would not be contrary to the national interest of the United States." Explaining its decision, the TPS notice cited the Syrian government's excessive use of force, arbitrary executions, detentions, torture, repression, and killing of thousands of Syrians as a reaction to peaceful protests.