11/6/17 Decision deadline for 59,550 Hondurans and Nicaraguans: 4 DAYS
11/23/17 Decision deadline for 50,000 Haitians: 21 DAYS
01/08/18 Decision deadline for 195,000 Salvadorans: 67 DAYS
MIAMI, Florida – In a Politico piece, Sergio Bustos highlights Miami Archbishop Wenski’s historic and committed advocacy for the rights of immigrants, in this case, for immigrants protected under Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
The faith perspective comes at a trying and high-anxiety time for the hundreds of thousands of TPS recipients in this country, as the above country-specific deadlines quickly approach.
The article in its entirety follows:
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who has advocated for decades in support of immigrants in South Florida, is calling on the Trump administration to extend a looming nationwide deadline for Hondurans and Nicaraguans with Temporary Protected Status.
“For the Catholic Church, this is a very humanitarian issue,” Wenski said in a conference call with national immigrant advocates today. “The administration should be on the side of the good guys and listen to their better angels, and extend TPS.”
Immigrant advocates want the administration to immediately extend TPS for 57,000 Hondurans and 2,550 Nicaraguans. It expires Jan. 5, 2018, but the administration is set to announce a decision by Nov. 6.
Wenski said he worries immigrant families may be separated if TPS recipients are deported, noting that nationwide, more than 270,000 children have parents who are TPS holders.
There are roughly 325,000 immigrants with TPS, but 90 percent come from just three countries — Haiti, Honduras and El Salvador. About 45,000 TPS holders from those three countries live in Florida.
TPS, a special immigration program, is one of several forms of relief the U.S. has given to foreigners over the years when their homelands were struck by natural disasters or armed conflict. It allows nationals of the affected countries — currently 13 — to remain in the U.S. and receive work permits until the disaster or unrest in their home country abates. People in the U.S. from those countries are eligible whether they were here legally or illegally at the time their country was designated for TPS.
