Trump administration will keep protected status for Somalis

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is continuing the special immigration status granted for nearly two decades to people from Somalia.

The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that it would renew temporary protected status for about 500 people because of armed conflict and other extraordinary conditions.

As many as 437,000 immigrants affected by extreme violence or disaster had the status, which allowed them to work. DHS has discontinued the status for nearly all the groups, including Honduras, El Salvador, Sudan, Nicaragua and Haiti. The department recently continued the special immigration status for Yemen.

President Donald Trump's supporters note the protections were never meant to be permanent.

Many Somalis have settled in Minnesota. Community and immigration advocates have said returning to Somalia would be a death sentence for some and would separate families.