Washington, DC — On a virtual press briefing held earlier today, America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas hosted Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-3), International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) Staff Attorney Megan Hauptman, and Cecilia Gonzalez, a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipient and co-founder of the Venezuelan American Caucus, to discuss the stakes and larger implications of tomorrow’s Supreme Court oral arguments on TPS. A recording of the virtual event is available HERE.
As the speakers detailed, the Supreme Court will not only decide whether TPS holders from Syria and Haiti will lose their ability to live and work legally in the United States, but potentially the fate of more than 1.3 million TPS holders from all 17 TPS-designated countries, as Trump administration’s request to make TPS decision-making unreviewable by the courts. Ending TPS would be the largest de-documentation effort in U.S. history, but the attacks on TPS are only part of a larger pattern: the Trump administration is looking to strip protections and legal status from immigrants who currently have it, exposing as many people as possible to detention and deportation.
Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-3) said: “The Trump-Miller white nationalist administration has waged a war against our communities, trying to define who gets to be an American, and who gets to experience the promise of safety and refuge, and who doesn’t – even if we’ve lived here for decades, even if we were born here, even if this is a place we call home, or even if our lives, safety, and security depend on staying in this country. That’s why these conversations are so important, that we in Congress finally affirm that our immigrant families are seen, they’re valued, and that they’re integral to our communities. So, no matter what happens in the Supreme Court case this week, we in Congress have to keep fighting for a path to citizenship.”
Megan Hauptman, IRAP Staff Attorney, said: “From refugees, to DACA recipients, to TPS holders, the government doesn’t care about legal status or humanity–everyone is a target. That’s why tomorrow’s Supreme Court hearing is so important. We cannot stand by and let the government’s attacks go unchallenged.”
Cecilia Gonzalez, TPS recipient and co-founder of the Venezuelan American Caucus, said: “This case is about more than Temporary Protected Status, it is about whether immigrant families who have followed the law and built their lives in this country can have their protections stripped away overnight for political purposes. As a Venezuelan, I learned early on that when things get difficult, there are two options: fleeing or fighting. I already fled once, so now I choose to fight, not only for Venezuelans, but for every immigrant community that deserves dignity, stability, and permanent solutions.”
Vanessa Cárdenas, America’s Voice Executive Director and the moderator of the discussion, stated: “The effort to bypass the courts entirely and end TPS for more than 1.3 million friends and family and co-workers is a violation of both the law and the values that this nation aspires to. It’s also part of the growing and disturbing pattern under the Trump administration to strip legal status and protections from as many people as possible to make them deportable – from denaturalizing U.S. citizens to revoking parole and visa status to targeting Dreamers with DACA, the pattern and motivation is clear.”
Access a recording of the virtual event HERE
