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Fast Approaching Decision Deadlines for Temporary Protected  Status (TPS) For 300k Immigrants Could Have Devastating  Economic Consequences

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NEW CAP Report Shows GDP Loss Could Be $164 Billion
State-by-State Breakdown Here

11/6/17 Decision deadline for 59,550 Hondurans and Nicaraguans: 17 DAYS
11/23/17 Decision deadline for 50,000 Haitians: 34 DAYS
01/08/18 Decision deadline for 195,000 Salvadorans: 80 DAYS

A recording of today’s press call is available here.

In a press call this morning, economic, legal, and policy experts highlighted the disastrous economic impacts of revoking Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Americans, as country-specific deadlines loom.

The discussion is timely, as the Center For American Progress (CAP) released new analysis providing an overview of the contributions of the more than 300,000 Salvadorans, Hondurans and Haitians currently living in the United States under TPS, along with fact sheets for 21 states painting a picture of the TPS holders living in those states and their impact on the state’s economy.  A recording of today’s call is available here. Additional resources and backgrounders on TPS are available below.

Tom Jawetz, Vice President of Immigration Policy, Center for American Progress, said:

Ending TPS and kicking legally-authorized workers out of the workforce would cost the country an estimated $164 billion in GDP over the next decade.  The losses to individual states—and to individuals industries within various states—will be staggering. Texas and Florida—two states that have a great deal of rebuilding to do as a result of Hurricane Harvey—stand to lose more than 10,000 Salvadoran and Honduran TPS recipients already working in construction.

Carlos Guevara, Senior Policy Advisor of Immigration Policy, Unidos US, said:

In the next 90 days, this Administration will make a decision in how it deals with immigrants living lawfully in our country under TPS.  TPS recipients have passed numerous criminal background checks and have often been living in the U.S. for at least 16 years.  They have become part of our families, our economy, and our communities.  This administration seems intent on forcing immigrants legally here to the deportation line, no matter if doing so sacrifices law and order for chaos.

Laura Reiff, Co-Chair, Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (EWIC), said:

Americans with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are hardworking individuals who are contributing to our economy, our communities and our industries.  Many of these TPS workers have become beyond temporary and are permanent, productive members of the U.S. workforce.  Failure to address essential workers in the reform debate will cause turmoil in industries already hard-pressed to find workers like construction, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing and create similar chaos in companies with such workers.

Frank Sharry, Executive Director, America’s Voice Education Fund, said:

The upcoming decisions regarding hundreds of thousands of TPS beneficiaries are the most important immigration, economic and foreign policy decisions most people have never heard of. If immigrants who have been here for many years — working legally, buying homes and contributing to critical industries — it will destabilize local economies and industries. If the Trump Administration ends TPS and compels people to return to countries that are in no condition to receive them, it will be destabilize countries important to us, many of which are in our region. With more than 300,000 TPS beneficiaries expecting a Trump Administration decision on their fate, and some 800,000 DACA beneficiaries depending on Congressional action to shape their futures, we are entering a stretch of time that will be of huge consequence to 1.1 million immigrants who are deeply rooted and legally present in America. Sending them back to the shadows and exposing them to deportation would go down in history as one of our nation’s darkest chapters.

Resources

  • NEW CAP Report Shows GDP Loss Could Be $164 Billion
  • State-by-State Breakdown Here
  • Background on TPS Here
  • A recording of today’s press call is available here

The Economic Impact of TPS

Approximately 250,000 TPS recipients are currently employed — approximately 94% of men and 82% of women.

The average TPS recipient works between 40-45 hours per week.

Given the length of time on the job, many of these workers are senior, specialized and not easily replaceable such as construction site supervisors and nursing home professionals.

The five leading industries that would face mass layoffs are construction (50,000+), restaurants and other food services (32,000+), landscaping services (15,000+), child day care services (10,000) and grocery stores (9,000+).

The mass layoffs of 250,000 TPS recipients would cost employers approximately $967 million in immediate turnover costs.

The revocation of TPS status would cost the U.S. an estimated $164 billion in Gross Domestic Product. A state-by-state breakdown can be found here.

It would result in a loss of $6.9 billion in Social Security and Medicare payments over a decade.

Given that 30% of TPS recipients are homeowners, the consequences of simultaneously dumping 60,000 mortgages could disrupt housing markets across the country including Texas (13,000 mortgages), Florida (5,000+ mortgages) andVirginia (4,100 mortgages).

Mass deportations of TPS recipients would cost taxpayers more than $3 billion dollars.