Somalia Temporary Protected Status Update

Re-Registration Period For Current Beneficiaries: March 18, 2023 – May 12, 2023

First Time Registration Period: March 18, 2023 – September 24, 2023

Current Expiration Date: September 24, 2024

Temporary Protected Status For Somalia is our country’s oldest TPS program. Yet, conditions have not improved enough for Somalis to return safely to their homeland.

On January 12, 2023, Alejandro Mayorkas, director of the U.S Department of Homeland Security, extended and redesignated Temporary Protected Status for Somalia because the conditions in Somalia that prompted the original TPS designation remain ongoing and have been exacerbated in recent years.

“Longstanding conflict, along with natural disasters and disease outbreaks, has worsened an already severe humanitarian crisis. Somalia continues to be affected by terrorism, violent crime, civil unrest, and fighting among clan militias. These conditions prevent Somali nationals and habitual residents from returning safely.”

Based on this review, the Department of Homeland Security determined the 18-month extension was appropriate.

Facing deportation at immigration court, many undocumented immigrants learn about a “hardship” defense for the first time.

So what is hardship?

For most lawyers, it’s an easy concept to grasp.  But difficult to explain.

In short, it means the negative effects which a person will experience if a loved  one is removed from the United States.  It’s the amount of suffering a parent, child, or parent will go through after an immigrant is deported or removed from the United States.

A few months ago, the Escondido Police Department and the U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) entered into a secretive agreement.  Under this partnership, two ICE agents work out of the Escondido Police Department office and regularly travel on patrol with Escondido officers.

As I wrote in Escondido Police Teams With ICE: How Will It Affect Immigrant Detentions?, the partnership was hatched in the dark.  Or more precisely, those who should have know about the program origins and goals claimed ignorance.

The DREAM Act debate is not over.

We lost another immigration battle this week.  But not the war.

Once in a while, common sense rules the day in immigration law.

As a Riverside immigration lawyer, it seems like these days are like a burst of sunlight in the middle of week-long thunderstorms.

But they happen.   And when they do, like the recent ICE policy change regarding needless deportation and removal hearings, the government deserves praise.

I don’t get it.

As an immigration lawyer in Hemet, where we just went though an excruciating debate over supporting Arizona SB 1070, I wonder why other states want to create potentially explosive social divisions among its citizens.

After expressing my views on the City Council’s actions as an immigration lawyer, Corona, Lake Elsinore, and Perris residents, many against my position, rose up to let their opinions heard.  The public display of something far less than good manners wasn’t very nice to watch.

Reaction created counter-reaction, instigating counter-counter reaction, in a never-ending cycle of insults continuing today.

Human trafficking, a form of modern day slavery, is growing.

It’s growing across the globe. It’s growing across the United States. Now, it’s growing locally. Recent news reports confirm its arrival in the Inland Empire and Southwest Riverside.

As an immigration lawyer whose practice takes me into various regional communities, I sensed its growing presence based on tell-tale signs a few months ago.

According to a San Diego Union-Tribune news report earlier today, Escondido has become the first city in Southern California to integrate the help of immigration agents in local police activities.  Escondido is located in Northern San Diego County.

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers now work out of the Escondido Police Department offices and accompany police officers on certain calls.  It is not clear which types of matters the ICE officers are tracking.

The debate over immigration reform, during the past week, exploded in Riverside County.

A decision by the Hemet City Council to endorse a hotly disputed and constitutionally defective Arizona law triggered other Inland Empire and Southwest Riverside cities to join the bandwagon.

Practicing immigration law in Riverside County, I’m glad immigration reform has become a leading issue. It’s long overdue.

But I’m disappointed at the negative twist it has taken.