In addition, Citizenship and Immigration Services, the US agency responsible for the administration of granting temporary protected status for Syrians who are already here on a temporary visa, essentially closed the registration for initial filings in December. Does this make any sense?
The other option for Syrians in the United States is to apply for asylum, and thousands living here have done so. This can be a yearslong and legally arduous option, leaving asylum seekers in limbo and often without work authorization.
Syrian refugees need our help now, and the Obama administration must wake up to the moral urgency of this crisis.
The writer is an attorney who specializes in asylum law and is co-coordinator of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Salem State University, where he is a professor of social work.