WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is extending a program that allows people from Yemen to stay in the U.S. temporarily because of the turmoil from the civil war there.
The Department of Homeland Security said in announcing the decision Tuesday that about 2,100 Yemenis and their families will benefit from the extension and re-designation of temporary protected status. They will be allowed to live and work in the U.S. through March 2023, though the program does not automatically grant them a path to American citizenship.
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Their temporary protected status was due to expire in September.
DHS cited the worsening humanitarian and economic conditions that prevent people from Yemen from returning to their homes. The country has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014. There is also widespread famine, a cholera outbreak that has raged since 2016 and the effects of the pandemic.
The Biden administration has granted or extended the temporary status to people from several countries, including Myanmar, El Salvador, Haiti and Venezuela. That's in contrast to the Trump administration, which sought to phase out the program, an effort that was slowed by legal challenges.