By Reuters Staff

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       FILE PHOTO: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas disembarks from Air Force Two as he arrives at El Paso, Texas, U.S., June 25, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

       WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Tuesday extended Yemeni eligibility for a humanitarian program that grants deportation relief and work permits to immigrants already in the United States who cannot safely return to their home countries.

       The renewed designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will allow approximately 1,700 Yemenis to keep their status through March 3, 2023, and allows an estimated 480 additional Yemenis to apply, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

       “Yemen continues to experience worsening humanitarian and economic conditions that prevent individuals from safely returning to their homes,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in the statement.

       Mayorkas cited the ongoing armed conflict, lack of access to food, water, and healthcare, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic’s worsening of the economic and humanitarian situation as among the reasons for the decision.

       Reporting by Eric Beech and Kristina Cooke; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sonya Hepinstall

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