Washington, DC – A ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals puts the futures of people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) back in limbo, at the whims of an administration that has made no secret about its desire to deport them.
“This is a dark day,” said Elissa Diaz, Policy Associate with Church World Service and Chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition. “The impact of this decision is difficult to face. The lives of hundreds of thousands of people with Temporary Protected Status are once again in jeopardy. They and their U.S.-born children and family members must be in mourning. Congressional action to create a path to citizenship for people with TPS, such as The Dream and Promise Act, has never been more urgently needed.”
TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to protect people fleeing war-torn and disaster-ravaged nations from being deported to danger. When the Trump administration attempted to end this protection for hundreds of thousands of people already in the United States, TPS holders, their lawyers, and their American children fought back.
Crista Ramos, a teenager born in the United States. is the lead plaintiff in the Ramos vs. Nielsen case brought by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and Sidley Austin LLP on behalf of nine people with TPS and five U.S. citizen children. Ramos said, “I only learned about TPS when the president tried to end it for my mom. But as a child of a TPS holder, I didn’t think twice about standing up to the president to defend my mom and our family.”
Diaz added: “Crista is so brave. Her mom is so brave. They do not deserve this outcome. This is a man-made tragedy caused by the Trump administration. We at the Interfaith Immigration Coalition have renewed focus and purpose to make sure Congress also acts with courage and fixes the law so that Crista’s mom and others like her can stay.”
“Today, the court’s decision co-signs the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant agenda and disregards the vital ties that TPS holders have to our communities, especially the faith community,’ said Peniel Ibe, Policy Engagement Coordinator of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). “The danger of the decision is looming, and starting as early as March 2021, TPS holders will begin to lose their protections, leaving them vulnerable to detention and deportations. If Congress does not act now, this immoral decision will lead to another surge of the ongoing and already devastating acts of family separation and severed connections with loved ones that are being inflicted on our communities. We have a moral obligation to use our voices when policies are implemented that destroy families and hurt individuals. Rooted in our diverse faiths’ values and teachings, we urge all Senators to push for a vote on the Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R. 6) or similar legislation. This legislation must be passed without the addition of more detention, deportation, and border militarization plans. These are unnecessary and harmful to our communities.”
“As TPS holders, we have spent half of our lives living in the United States while working, paying taxes and advancing our families forward,” said Elsa Valle, TPS recipient and member leader of AFSC’s New Jersey TPS Committee. “The futures of our children are here. Congress must pass a pathway to citizenship for TPS holders and prevent the forced return of our families to countries that we do not know.”
“We are dismayed at the court’s decision, which sets aside a mountain of evidence showing the racial animus at the heart of this president’s TPS cancellations,” said Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, President and CEO of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. “With this ill-judged ruling, the Ninth Circuit sets the countdown ticking for hundreds of thousands of innocent people to face deportation and separation from their families. Our deepest gratitude to the courageous plaintiffs who took action to oppose these heartless policies. Congress must create a legal path to permanent residency for TPS holders, and the executive branch must act to provide immediate relief.”
“This unconscionable decision is a tragedy for the Ramos family and for hundreds of people with TPS status, and is a betrayal of all that is good in this country,” stated Sister Marie Lucey, Associate Director of Franciscan Action Network (FAN). “We join those who demand that Congress enact The Dream and Promise Act or similar legislation. Action by Congress is urgent.”
“Since this administration began, it has moved to end protections for 95% of TPS holders. Today’s decision now greatly multiplies the anxieties and trauma imposed upon hundreds of thousands of TPS neighbors who have served for years–sometimes decades–as pastors, congregation members, and community leaders; offering their contributions, friendships, and faith to strengthen our nation. We are grateful for the TPS holders and their children, who bravely warned of the family separations and community losses that will result unless Congress quickly enacts needed and permanent protections,” added Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries.
Anna Gallagher, CLINIC executive director, said: “Congress created Temporary Protected Status more than thirty years ago, rightly, because it would be unconscionable to deport people back to crisis and conflict. No family should be faced with the choice of either splitting up or moving their entire family, including U.S. citizen children, to a country where they face danger.“
“This decision clearly defines the difference between justice and law. Moral and ethical principles provide the anchors to justice. A decision that puts at risk the futures of hundreds of thousands of people who have lived in this country for decades, and whose offspring are mostly citizens of the United States, is unfair, sad, and regrettable, compounded by the fact such a decision was offered without a profound reasoning,” said Elket Rodríguez, Immigrants & Refugees Advocacy and Missions Specialist for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. “As people of faith, we need to be steadfast and resolute in our actions to guarantee these TPS beneficiaries a future in the country to which they have contributed so much for so many years.”
In April, Ramos plaintiffs filed a letter with the court explaining that the COVID-19 pandemic made ruling in favor of maintaining TPS all the more crucial, because so many people with TPS work in “essential” industries and care-giving roles.
“TPS holders are integral members of our communities. They pay taxes, they start businesses, they volunteer, and during a pandemic that is ravaging our nation, they are serving on the frontlines. To take away their protected status is cruel, not just because it will destroy everything they have built here, but because it could return them to potentially dangerous conditions,” said Rev, John L. McCullough, President and CEO of Church World Service. “The administration knows what these people will face, yet they continue to marginalize, exclude, and deport those whose only wish is to remain safely in our nation. Should this ruling ultimately hold up, it would place more than 300,000 of our neighbors at risk, separate families, and destabilize regional security, which would inevitably drive further displacement.”
“The administration’s ongoing and deliberate attacks against TPS holders are an affront to human dignity,” said Jill Marie Bussey, CLINIC director of Advocacy. “They illustrate a xenophobic agenda as the driver of policy, not facts on the ground. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people in the United States are living in fear of being deported to countries that are not safe. At this difficult moment resulting from the court’s ruling, CLINIC reaffirms our solidarity with this beloved, indispensable community.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
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