Call On the Administration To Extend TPS Status For Haiti Before the Upcoming November 23, 2017 Deadline
A recording of today’s call is available here.
Today, immigration, national security, and faith leaders and experts, condemned the Trump Administration for its decision last night to revoke temporary protected status (TPS) from fully vetted, hardworking, taxpaying Nicaraguans while punting on a decision regarding 57,000 Hondurans, triggering an automatic six month extension.
The group also urged the Administration to renew TPS status for the 50,000 Haitians living and working with the United States before the upcoming November 23, 2017 deadline.
Belinda Osorio, Housekeeper at Walt Disney World Orlando, UNITE HERE Union Member, and TPS Recipient, said:
Without Honduran TPS I could lose everything: my job as a UNITE HERE union hotel housekeeper at Disney where I have a say in my working conditions and compensation, my home that I purchased over a decade ago, and my family— including my husband and our two children who are also American-born. I could even lose my driver’s license and be targeted for deportation. America is my home, and I will not give up. I will keep fighting with my union for the ability to stay in America, the only country that is home to me and tens of thousands of other immigrants on TPS.
Royce Murray, Policy Director, American Immigration Council, said:
Who gains when we take away lawful status from tens of thousands of people, many of whom have lived here, paid taxes, and registered with the government for decades? TPS holders have provided their personal information, undergone background checks, and now could be at risk of losing their ability to work lawfully and support their families. People with TPS should not be subjected to the risk of deportation to countries that remain dangerous and unstable. If the administration won’t protect them, Congress must provide a permanent solution.
Randy McGrorty, Executive Director of Catholic Legal Services, Archdiocese of Miami,said:
Daily in our offices, in the pews of our churches, we see our neighbors and their many contributions to the fabric of our life in Miami. They contribute spiritually, culturally, and financially. The decision to end TPS for Nicaraguans reminds us that as we continue the call for a TPS extension, we must be mindful that we need a permanent pathway for these individuals that recognizes their many contributions.
Frank Sharry, Founder and Executive Director, America’s Voice Education Fund, said:
This Administration seems uninterested in keeping families together, in keeping essential workers in critical industries, or in keeping neighboring countries from become failed states. They seem to care more about getting applause from the right-wingers who want to drive out immigrants, keep out refugees, ban Muslims and slash legal immigration. This is not who we are. We will not stand by as this Administration takes a wrecking ball to the Statue of Liberty. We will raise our voices in hopes that a measure of sanity influences the upcoming DHS decisions on Haiti, El Salvador and Honduras. And we call on Congress to step into the breach so that those with TPS are formally recognized for being what they already are – permanent residents of the United States.
Oscar Chacón, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Alianza Americas, said:
The Administration’s announcement that it will cancel TPS for 2,500 Nicaraguans who have legally lived and worked in the United States for decades is a shameful decision that ignores their many long-term contributions to this country. Its deadlock on the fate of Honduran TPS holders unnecessarily continues to place 57,000 people and their families in a cruel limbo — one that could end with their return to life-threatening conditions in their home country in as little as six months.
Daniel Restrepo, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress, said:
As it continues to assess the on-the-ground situation in Honduras, Haiti, and El Salvador, the Trump Administration should listen to those U.S. government professionals closest to the situation — our brave men and women serving in U.S. embassies in each country. The Administration should also keep foremost in its mind its solemn duty to protect U.S. national security — a task that demands cooperating with the countries affected by the pending decisions, not destabilizing them.
