As the U.S. fuels war in Yemen, 1,200 Yemenis face deportation under Trump: Salon

SANAA, July 3 (YPA) – While The United States has played an active role in Yemen’s civil war, one that has only proven to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis on the ground, 1,200 Yemenis stand to lose protection and now face the threat of being deported back to their war-torn country, Salon website reported.

There are currently about 1,200 Yemenis under temporary protected status (TPS), a program that allows individuals already living inside the U.S. to receive protection because their home country has been deemed too unsafe to return, according to a report published by Salon.

Despite the lack of attention in the mainstream media, the U.S. has played anything but a passive role in the ongoing civil war in Yemen, which has so far left more than 10,000 civilians dead.

It’s important to note that the U.S. has long been militarily engaged in Yemen, and Trump is the third consecutive presidents perpetuate such involvement in one way or another, with no signs of an end in sight.

With roughly 1,200 Yemenis facing the threat of being deported back to a nation in which the U.S. has played an active role in worsening the conflict, the Trump administration continues to prove how ruthless its anti-immigration policy agenda truly is despite outpouring criticism. It’s also indicative of how such an aggressive hardline agenda could result in life or death circumstances for many.

The Salon said that advocacy groups such as Win Without War and the Yemen Peace Project have called for the Trump administration to extend temporary protected status for 1,200 Yemenis.

They also have asked voters to call their members of Congress to take action, the Salon added.

“The United States simply cannot contribute to a conflict engendering the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and expel those seeking shelter from its grave consequences,” the Washington D.C.-based organization wrote.

According to “Salon”, 33 national security experts, 31 of whom are former federal government officials, sent a letter to Nielsen and State Secretary Mike Pompeo and urged them to extend TPS for Yemenis in the U.S. Three former U.S. ambassadors to Yemen, Gerald Feierstein, Barbara Bodine and Stephen A. Seche, announced that they would also sign onto that letter.

“As a major source of both material and political support to the Saudi-led coalition intervening in Yemen, the U.S. can neither ignore its role in the conflict nor the moral responsibility it bears for the outcomes,” the ambassadors wrote.

“It would be unconscionable for our country to actively support this war and then refuse to protect those who flee from it. The Trump administration has already halted resettlement of Yemeni refugees, and has thrown up numerous barriers to prevent Yemenis from entering the U.S. or applying for asylum,” the ambassadors added.

They stressed that “extending TPS is the least this country can do in the face of the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.”

E.M