U.S. Ends Protected Status for Syrians: How It Affects Them

The United States has begun reassessing the status of Syrians living in the country following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024.

In what could mark the start of mass deportations, the Department of Homeland Security announced on September 19, 2025 that Washington will end Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for Syrians residing in the United States.

Protection Revoked

A government notice said the decision will strip more than six thousand Syrians of TPS, first granted in 2012, a year after the uprising began.

“Conditions in Syria no longer prevent their nationals from returning home,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

“Syria has been a hotbed of terrorism and extremism for nearly two decades, and it is contrary to our national interest to allow Syrians to remain in our country.”

Syrians under TPS now have sixty days to leave voluntarily or face possible arrest and deportation once their permits expire on September 30. Deportations could begin as soon as November 21 unless they secure another legal status. About a thousand more Syrians are still waiting for their TPS applications to be processed.

The Trump administration justifies the decision by citing improvements in Syria, but it fits within a broader crackdown on immigrants promised during his campaign. For months, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been arresting undocumented migrants and transferring them to one of its roughly 90 detention centers, where legal proceedings can lead to either immediate deportation or a lengthy court process lasting years.

Migrants who cannot prove they have been in the U.S. for more than two years may face swift deportation without a hearing.

According to a Wall Street Journal report from May 11, 2025, all migrants, whether in expedited or standard removal processes, retain the right to request asylum if they fear persecution or torture in their home countries. Filing for asylum triggers a parallel legal process that can grant temporary protection and, if the claim is successful, a chance to remain in the United States.

Roughly six thousand Syrians who have been living and working legally in the U.S. for years now face a stark choice: find another path to stay or prepare to return to a homeland still grappling with instability.

Limited Options

Mohammed Agha, a longtime member of the Syrian community in the United States, said the Temporary Protected Status program was first granted to Syrians in 2012 and was renewed several times, most recently on September 30, 2024, under former President Joe Biden.

“We strongly urge everyone covered by the program to speak with an immigration lawyer as soon as possible to explore their individual options,” Agha told Al-Estiklal.

He explained that TPS was designed for people who could not safely return to their home countries. Ending the program, he said, does not automatically strip away the legal protections Syrians have already earned, nor does it amount to an individual assessment of each case.

Under U.S. law, he noted, the government must review each person’s circumstances and provide legal alternatives before carrying out deportations. Similar challenges have been brought in court on behalf of nationals from other countries whose TPS was terminated under President Donald Trump, including Venezuelans, Haitians, Hondurans, Nicaraguans, and Ukrainians.

Agha said Syrians under TPS are eligible for work permits known as Employment Authorization Documents, which allow them to work legally in the United States. If their TPS designation for Syria expires, they revert to the immigration status they held before the protection was granted.

Some may still qualify for other paths, he added, such as applying for a green card through employment or marriage. While Syrians cannot appeal the government’s decision to end TPS, they retain the right to request asylum, a process that can lead to either rejection or permanent residency if their claim is approved.

For recent arrivals who never had TPS or crossed the southern border unlawfully, Agha said seeking asylum in Canada remains an option, provided they have not already applied for asylum in the U.S. Those who are detained at the border, however, cannot be released on bond and face swift removal.

TPS holders can also pursue university admission in the United States and request a student visa through an expedited process, he said.

Agha urged Syrians not to travel abroad until they resolve their legal status, warning that immigration rules are shifting rapidly. Those currently outside the country but holding TPS must return before September 30, 2025, to avoid losing their status, as a 60-day transition period begins after that date.

Trump’s Policy

Some immigration policy experts criticized the decision to revoke Temporary Protected Status for Syrians, according to The New York Times. They argued that conditions in Syria remain volatile and that Syrians pose little threat of terrorism.

Amanda Baran, the former head of policy for Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Biden administration, said the decision to end the program was “gutting for the thousands of Syrians here with TPS and the communities in which they live.”

“Conditions in Syria remain dangerous and unstable, clearly warranting an extension under the law,” Baran said. “This administration’s disregard for the expertise of human rights experts is having real, dire consequences on the lives of everyday people, as demonstrated by this reckless decision.”

David Bier, the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank that favors more legal immigration, said Syrians historically did not pose significant terrorism risks, and that federal officials could choose to deny an individual from the program if they believed that person was a threat to national security.

Bier said he also thought it was contradictory for the department to assert that Syria was a “hotbed” of terrorism, while saying that it was safe for Syrians to return there.

Syrian refugee admissions to the U.S. plummeted during Trump’s first term, dropping from 6,557 in 2017 to just 44 in 2018.

Following Trump’s return to office, deportation efforts expanded far beyond his campaign’s stated focus on undocumented migrants with criminal records. They have also reached visa holders, legal permanent residents, and even immigrants married to U.S. citizens.

The shift reflects a sweeping change in Trump’s immigration strategy. Determined to show progress on his campaign pledge to remove millions of undocumented immigrants, he has widened enforcement to include groups previously shielded by legal status.

Trump has vowed to carry out what he calls the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, targeting all migrants who entered the country unlawfully, not just those convicted of serious crimes—a promise that could mean deporting 11 to 12 million people, many of whom have lived in the country for more than a decade.

A Washington Post-Ipsos poll in February found overwhelming support among Americans for deporting migrants accused of violent crimes and broad approval for removing those convicted of nonviolent offenses. Support drops, however, when it comes to deporting otherwise law-abiding immigrants who entered the country illegally but have lived in the United States for years.