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UN agency asks US to grant Colombian refugees temporary protected status

UN agency asks US to grant Colombian refugees temporary protected status

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recommended that the United States grant temporary protected status to the tens of thousands of Colombian nationals currently in the country, ensuring them at least temporary protection and safety.

The status being recommended by UNHCR is a time-limited, complementary form of protection that allows nationals of a designated country to remain in the United States regardless of visa status or asylum proceedings.

In a two-page letter to US officials, UNHCR pointed out that the escalating humanitarian crisis in Colombia has not only resulted in the displacement of millions of civilians but is also precluding their return home.

"The numbers of Colombian asylum seekers are increasing dramatically in the region and in the United States," UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said. "Countries neighbouring Colombia have seen dramatic increases over last year in monthly average arrivals of asylum seekers, and fighting in Colombia's border regions is intensifying."