Washington, DC — Last week, 16 months of settlement negotiations ended between the Biden administration and the plaintiffs in Ramos v. Mayorkas, leaving approximately 300,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and their families from Haiti, Sudan, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal at risk of deportation.
While the administration has designated Haiti and Sudan for TPS outside of the lawsuit, the latest TPS extension for Haiti ends on February 3 and for Sudan on October 19 of 2023. The administration has yet to take action for the four other nations in the lawsuit: TPS statuses for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal are set to expire on December 31, 2022. The current conditions in these six countries—as well as Pakistan and Guatemala—continue to urgently necessitate protection from deportation. See “Background” below for more details.
Directly-impacted communities, advocates, and faith groups remind President Biden that his administration has the executive authority to offer expansive TPS protections to the hundreds of thousands of immigrants from these nations and their families currently in the United States. Legal challenges and executive inaction should not stand between our immigrant siblings and living a life of dignity, safety, and security.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC)—made up of over fifty-five faith-based organizations across religious traditions—urges the Biden administration to protect human lives and take immediate action on TPS for Haiti, Sudan, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Guatemala, and Pakistan.
Members of the IIC released the following statements:
“We need Congress to pass permanent protections and a pathway to citizenship for all immigrants. But while we continue to put pressure on Congress, we also need the Biden administration to act now to extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador and grant TPS designation for Guatemala,” said Berta Sanles, Policy Organizer with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Florida. “TPS redesignation will protect people from deportation—people like me who have been living in the U.S. for 22 years after leaving Nicaragua. Beyond being hit with natural disasters, Nicaragua is under dictatorship where human rights are being violated. The administration needs to protect Nicaraguans and others from countries that are not secure to go back to right now.”
“Thousands of families are depending on the Biden administration to extend TPS protections to prevent their return to unstable and oppressive country conditions,” said Anna Gallagher, Executive Director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC). “We call on this administration to stand by their promises to uphold the dignity of migrants and to ensure that legal pathways will remain available. The urgency is great for those in need of TPS protections from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Haiti, Sudan, Pakistan and Guatemala.”
“The irony of having temporary protected status is that while safety may have a time limit, the danger does not,” said Meredith Owen, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Church World Service. “The promise of security that the United States extends should not be based on an arbitrary timeline, but rather on the ultimate safety of the men, women, and children who call this nation home. Whether from Central America, Southeast Asia, or the Middle East, families should not be forced to return, particularly when the threat of harm remains. President Biden has the power to ensure their safety, he simply needs to make the choice to do so.”
“The end of the year brings fear for several hundred thousand people living in the United States under Temporary Protected Status from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal,” said Fran Eskin-Royer, Executive Director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. “Unless President Biden re-designates their status, they will be forced back to countries in turmoil and crisis. Additionally, TPS holders from Sudan and Haiti will experience this same fear next year. America opened our arms recognizing the severity of life in these distressed societies. Now is not the time to change course. We seek compassion from President Biden. He determines their fate.”
Sister Marie Lucey, Associate Director of Franciscan Action Network (FAN) stated, “FAN urges the Biden administration not to continue the harmful, racist policies of the previous administration which ended TPS protections for thousands of people from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal. Franciscans are challenged to view all people, especially those most vulnerable, as sisters and brothers, so we challenge the Biden administration to acknowledge that conditions in these countries necessitate TPS protection from the return of our brothers and sisters.”
Background
The Trump Administration ended TPS designations for Haiti, Sudan, Nepal, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras in 2017, threatening the status of approximately 300,000 beneficiaries. In a class-action lawsuit, TPS holders sued and a federal district judge granted an injunction to block the termination in 2018. The 9th Circuit of Appeals overturned the decision in 2020, but the termination did not go into effect because the plaintiffs sought a full hearing from the Court. When President Biden took office, the administration and plaintiffs began negotiations to secure a just settlement. On October 26, it was announced that the settlement talks failed to reach an agreement and the case has been sent back to the 9th Circuit of Appeals.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 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. Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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