“TEMPORARY”: Obama extends Temporary Protected Status for Somalis, confusion evident in media reports.

When Obama extended TPS status for Somalis that is only for a relatively small number who have been here for a very long time. Al Jazeera tells us this:

Some 355,000 people total hold temporary protected status, with El Salvadorians making up more than half of those. The government regularly extends TPS for some nationalities, sometimes for decades. An estimated 270 Somalis have held their TPS designation continuously since 1991.

Somali TPS holders though are a drop in the bucket compared to the nearly 10,000 Somalis entering the US annually through the permanent Refugee Resettlement Program.

By the way, Al Jazerra also tells us that there are 10,000 Syrians in the US eligible for TPS and they are not rushing to make themselves known to the government.