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“The move reactivates a years-long court battle for the longtime immigrants to stay in the United States and intensifies pressure on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to decide whether to renew their protections,” the report continues. While the Biden administration redesignated relief for Sudan and Haiti, it hasn’t so far for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua.
Civil rights advocates said that unless Mayorkas and the administration act, “TPS holders from these countries could lose protection at the end of this year.” Numerous reports noted that as a candidate, Biden described the previous president’s attacks on the program as “politically motivated” and a “recipe for disaster.” In his platform, Biden said he would “protect” TPS holders “from being returned to countries that are unsafe.”
“When President Biden arrived at the White House, I was hopeful that he would change the policies that left TPS holders vulnerable. That has not happened,” said Elsy Flores de Ayala, a plaintiff in Ramos and National TPS Alliance leader. She’s been protected by this relief for two decades. “The administration’s failure to reach an agreement to resolve our case is heartbreaking for us all. But we will not give up the fight to keep our families safe and together.”
As noted in 2018, an end to TPS relief could become another child separation crisis, but this time on the Biden administration’s watch. Like Flores de Ayala, some affected individuals have had permission to live in the U.S. for many years, and are parents to nearly a quarter of a million U.S. citizen kids. This end to relief could mean parents being forced to uproot their families from their homes and communities, or leave them behind rather than taking them to unsafe conditions.
“The news that the Ramos settlement talks have broken off is beyond disappointing, with the potential to harm long-settled affected families, disrupt our economy, and dispirit Latino and immigrant voting communities just ahead of a consequential election,” said Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice. “We urge the Biden administration to take immediate action to protect this population. They should not be left in limbo, living in fear that they will lose status in two months.”
Cárdenas noted that families “are in this position because Donald Trump and Stephen Miller wanted to deport TPS holders until the Ramos lawsuit intervened.” Documents have revealed that senior U.S. diplomats had warned former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson against terminating this relief. But the big oil executive ignored this advice and joined Miller in making hundreds of thousands of immigrants with deep ties to the U.S. deportable.
Erasmo Ramos, a Honduran TPS holder and leader in the National TPS Alliance leader, said the president has not kept his promise to protect TPS families. “Instead, he is endorsing Trump’s anti-immigrant policies, stripping immigrants of protection, and denying our rights.” Anil Shahi, a TPS holder from Nepal and immigration organizer with Nepali group Adhikaar, said he was “very disappointed that the Biden administration has not yet acted to protect us.” More than 15,000 Nepali immigrants are at risk without relief.
“This is not where we hoped (or expected) to be nearly two years after President Biden took office,” said Unemployed Workers United legal director Jessica Bansal. “TPS holders and their families deserve better. We will continue to fight these cruel and unlawful terminations for as long as necessary.”
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