The temporary immigrant status granted to hundreds of Africans currently living in the US state of Minnesota is set to be revoked. Up to 5000 people were given special protected status in 2014 when three countries in West Africa were hit by the Ebola virus. It enabled residents from affected nations to remain in the US legally until the outbreak had been contained.
The countries were declared to be free of the Ebola virus last year, and, according to Minnesota Public Radio, those immigrants with temporary legal status will now have to either gain permanent status or return home. The executive director of African Immigrant Services, Abdullah Kiatamba, based in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, says the termination of the protected status is premature, as do other immigration leaders. They claim that Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are still unsafe as the nations try to recover from the devastating outbreak.
John Keller, the executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, says that the health care system was already delicate in those countries worst affected by the virus, even before the crisis hit. While they might now be free from Ebola, the fight against it has taken a toll that needs to be taken into account before sending protected immigrants home.
Around 200 to 500 immigrants could be affected, according to Kiatamba. While officials have not released numbers, it is uncertain how many have already returned home or found ways to become permanent residents of the US.