Trump administration ends deportation protections for Syrians

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Friday it would end protections from deportation for Syrians living in the U.S., paving the way to return citizens to a country recently ravaged by civil war.

The announcement came as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was set to end for Syrians at the end of the month, ending protections that have been in place since 2012, shortly after war began in the middle eastern nation.

“This is what restoring sanity to America’s immigration system looks like,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. 

“Conditions in Syria no longer prevent their nationals from returning home. Syria has been a hotbed of terrorism and extremism for nearly two decades, and it is contrary to our national interest to allow Syrians to remain in our country. TPS is meant to be temporary.”

TPS can be awarded for countries experiencing civil unrest or natural disasters, allowing the government to halt any deportations to the country.

When the Biden administration renewed the protections in 2024, it cited widespread insecurity caused by the civil war.

“The ongoing civil war in Syria is in its thirteenth year and has involved large-scale destruction of infrastructure, widespread civilian casualties, and human rights abuses and violations. The humanitarian consequences are dire, including mass displacement of civilians, high levels of food insecurity, and limited access to healthcare and clean water,” DHS wrote at the time.

“These impacts have been compounded by the February 6, 2023, earthquake, which resulted in the further destruction of infrastructure and has contributed to the further breakdown of the economy and strained an already overburdened healthcare system.”

Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was deposed in December, but the country remains in chaos.

The United States Institute for Peace described Syrians as dealing with “the aftermath of nearly 14 years of brutal conflict where it is estimated that least 500,000 people were killed and more than 13 million forcibly displaced.” 

A Reuters investigation released Friday described warring factions within the country, finding “a lawless frontier under the control of armed groups with scores to settle.”