Extension of special immigration status for some Somalis is ill-advised in light of an ongoing FBI investigation into terrorist recruitment of Somalis in the Minneapolis area.
At least three young Somali men who disappeared from that area in the past two years have died in Somalia, including an American Somali who carried out a suicide bombing in October.
The FBI is probing recruitment for the Somalia-based radical Islamist group al-Shabaab, which the U.S. State Department lists as a foreign terrorist organization.
The FBI probe led to a February indictment accusing two Somalis living in the U.S. of traveling to Somalia to join al-Shabaab’s jihad there. One pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to terrorists in mid-July, days after the indictment was unsealed.
Now U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extending Temporary Protected Status — which shields foreigners who can’t return home safely from deportation but doesn’t lead to “green card” status — for about 250 Somali nationals.
They’re a tiny fraction of the 150,000 to 200,000 Somalis living in the U.S. But the federal government should err on the side of caution by delaying any TPS extension until it can clarify whether Somalis covered by TPS are contributing to the crimes the FBI is investigating.
Source: pittsburghlive
