November 8, 2017 - Ending TPS for Nicaraguans Will Have Drastic Humanitarian Consequences

November 8, 2017

ENDING TPS FOR NICARAGUANS WILL HAVE DRASTIC HUMANITARIAN CONSEQUENCES
Latino Leaders Disappointed in Administration’s Decision & Urge Congress to Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 45 of the nation’s preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, calls on the administration to revisit its decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nicaragua, and urges a more inclusive deliberation process with impacted communities for all future TPS determinations. Created in 1990, TPS allows individuals from countries facing “ongoing-armed conflict, environmental disaster or extreme conditions” to receive temporary immigration status in the United States. The decision to end TPS beginning in 2019 sets a dangerous precedent for TPS holders from other countries, such as Honduras.

TPS holders have been living in the United States and contributing to the economy for decades. Last night’s decision places in jeopardy the ability of nearly 2,500 Nicaraguan TPS holders to live and work legally in the United States. It affects not only the TPS holders, but their families and their community members. These individuals now face a timeline of one year that challenges them to determine whether they will remain in the United States without official documentation or leave the country they have called home for nearly twenty years. NHLA will push Congress to vote on legislation to provide permanent protection for TPS holders. NHLA previously issued a statement calling for the protection and renewal of TPS.

“Ending TPS for Nicaraguan refugees is the latest anti-immigrant decision by the Trump administration, ignoring facts in pursuit of a white supremacist agenda. These TPS holders are members of the Latino community, parents to children of U.S. citizens and valued contributors to the workforce and our communities. Data supports the argument for maintaining TPS and underscores the importance of allowing TPS holders to live and work in the United States. We urge Congress to take action to provide TPS holders the ability to stay united with their families and to continue contributing to the economic and social life of our nation,” said Hector Sanchez Barba, Chair of NHLA and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

"This administration is fundamentally unequipped to reach a fair conclusion about TPS extensions for immigrants from Latin American nations. Donald Trump's demonstrable pattern of excluding Latinos from his administration has repercussions. To overcome these evident inadequacies, this administration must adopt a transparent, consultative process that includes affected immigrant communities in order to arrive at any legitimate decision on TPS extension. The administration must revisit its decision this week on extension of TPS for immigrants from Nicaragua, and adopt a fairer process to reach these determinations for all TPS holders," said Thomas A. Saenz, NHLA Vice Chair and MALDEF President and General Counsel.

“For two decades, TPS has provided a humanitarian haven for persons fleeing natural disasters and violence. Hondurans and Salvadorans, Haitians and Nicaraguans are just some of the people we have welcomed into the U.S. to shield them from the devastation afflicting their homelands. The Trump Administration's decision to end the program for Nicaragua and leave the fate of Honduran TPS holders in limbo is yet another assault on immigrants and our tradition as a beacon of hope for those in harm's way,” said José Calderón, President, Hispanic Federation, and Co-Chair of the NHLA Immigration Committee. “Ending TPS will not make us richer or safer; it will diminish us. We urge Congress to act quickly to pass legislation that will allow immigrants who are fully integrated into their communities and the U.S. economy a path to adjust their status, and remain in this country as contributing members of society, rather than send them back to uncertain futures in unsafe homelands, ripping them away from US families, businesses, and communities.”

“The Administration’s announcement that it will cancel TPS for 2,500 Nicaraguans who have legally lived and worked in the United States for decades is a shameful decision that ignores their many long-term contributions to this country. Its deadlock on the fate Honduran TPS holders unnecessarily continues to place 57,000 people and their families in a cruel limbo—one that could end with their return to life-threatening conditions in their home country in as little as six months,” said Oscar Chacon, Executive Director of Alianza Americas.

“NLIRH is appalled by the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate TPS for Nicaraguan immigrants and delay the decision for Honduras. Ending TPS for Nicaraguans upends the lives of thousands of immigrant women, most of whom have been living and working in this country for decades and have deep roots in their communities. Terminating TPS for Nicaraguans will tear many immigrant women apart from their children and families, which is not only cruel but a threat to the social fabric of this nation. NLIRH calls on Congress to pass lasting legislative solutions that will protect all immigrants under threat in this country. In the meantime, we urge DHS to reconsider their decision to end TPS for Nicaraguans, and extend protections to Hondurans, Haitians, and Salvadorans. The lives of 300,000 immigrants and their families are at risk”, said Jessica González-Rojas, Executive Director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) and Co-Chair of the Latina Task Force.

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda is composed of 45 of the leading national and regional Latino civil rights and public policy organizations and other elected officials, and prominent Latinos Americans. NHLA coalition members represent the diversity of the Latino community – Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Latino Americans. NHLA’s mission calls for unity among Latinos around the country to provide the Latino community with greater visibility and a clearer, stronger influence in our country’s affairs. NHLA brings together Latino leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit: www.nationalhispanicleadership.org.

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