The Supreme Court must preserve legal status for immigrants in danger
Key takeaways
- Khaled fled war-torn Syria with his family, and spent time in a refugee camp in Lebanon before coming to the United States.
- Then, one day, the U.S. government decides you and everyone else from your country will lose status in 60 days, leaving you unemployable, vulnerable to deportation and terrified.
- This is the reality for thousands of Syrian nationals who hold temporary protected status, most of whom have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
Khaled fled war-torn Syria with his family, and spent time in a refugee camp in Lebanon before coming to the United States. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images) Imagine your home country has plunged into crisis: civil war, an earthquake, massive unrest. In recognition of the dangers you would face there, the U.S. government grants you permission to stay in the U.S. until it is safe for you to return. You build a home, a life and a community here, with the expectation that it will not be taken away arbitrarily.
Then, one day, the U.S. government decides you and everyone else from your country will lose status in 60 days, leaving you unemployable, vulnerable to deportation and terrified. Not only that, but you are blocked from applying for other ways to stay in the U.S., because you are a national of a country on the travel ban list.
This is the reality for thousands of Syrian nationals who hold temporary protected status, most of whom have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade.