Oct. 18 (UPI) — The Biden administration has announced it is granting protection from deportation to Lebanese nationals amid Israel’s ongoing assault on Hezbollah in the Middle Eastern country.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Thursday that Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has designated Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status, shielding Lebanese nationals presently in the country from deportation for 18 months while permitting them to apply for work permits.
A country receives TPS designation due to being besieged by armed conflict, environmental disaster or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. It is a temporary benefit that does not lead to lawful permanent resident status but allows citizens of the designated country to reside in the United States without fear of being deported to the strife-ridden nation.
Lebanon was granted the designation as it has come under a brutal assault by Israel as it targets Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Israel and Hamas, another Iran-proxy militia, have been at war since Oct. 7, 2023, during which an emboldened Hezbollah has attacked Israel over the Lebanese border.
Israel has responded with attacks of its own, and the two have been trading cross-border strikes for over a year now, but Israel’s assaults have intensified since Sept. 23. Since then, the United States, as well as other democratic nations, have been seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict amid fears of the war spreading.
In late July, President Joe Biden issued a memorandum of Deferred Enforced Departure that similarly protects eligible Lebanese nationals in the United States from deportation for 18 months.
At least 2,412 people have been killed in the fighting, the majority since Sept. 23, according to the Lebanese ministry of health.
The Department of Homeland Security states that some 11,000 Lebanese nationals in the United States will be protected under DED and TPS.
The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee said it “welcomed” the TPS designation of Lebanon as a reprieve for thousands of Lebanese nationals who are in the United States because of the war in the Middle East.
“The expansion of Israel’s genocide into Lebanon has already led to thousands of deaths, and a humanitarian crisis that is impacting millions of Lebanese residents. Ensuring that Lebanese nationals in the U.S. are not forced back into harm’s way is an important step,” ADC National Executive Director Abed Ayoub said in a statement, while criticizing the United States over its continued supply of weapons to Israel.
“The most important action the Biden-Harris Administration can immediately take is an immediate arms embargo on Israel, and implementation of an immediate ceasefire,” Ayoub said.