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The situation in Central America continues to deteriorate due to crime, violence, corruption and the pandemic by covid – 19 , for which it is urgent that the Government approve a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador and Honduras, activists and politicians said Tuesday.
“ People flee from violence and natural disasters,” said Representative Joaquín Castor, Democrat of Texas. “We urge the Biden government to order temporary protected status for Salvadorans and Hondurans.”
“ We know that these disasters will get worse “, he added. “These people have families in the United States, they strengthen our economy and have put their lives at risk as essential workers during the pandemic.”
Oscar Chacón, executive director of Alianza Américas, said that “nine months have passed after of the impact of a hurricane in Central America and the situation in these countries continues to deteriorate due to crime, violence, corruption and, above all, the pandemic. ”
For this reason, he requested that be designated a new TPS for Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala . Previously, a similar request, but expanded to 15 countries, was held this Tuesday by 30 Democratic mayors of large cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Tucson and Seattle.
In the opinion of the councilors, it is vital that the TPS be reassigned, in instead of extending a predesignation, so that a greater number of residents of these cities are eligible for this relief.
In a letter sent this Tuesday to Biden, the mayors asked for TPS for Afghanistan, Bahamas, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Lebanon, Mauritania, Nepal, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Sudan.
TPS is a program under which the US Government designates countries where there are violent conflicts or natural disasters have occurred and therefore a temporary residence is granted to its citizens who can stay and tr down in the United States. The inclusion of countries in the TPS program does not require the intervention of Congress but responds to instructions from the executive branch.
At the beginning of the Biden government last January there were some 319. TPS recipients and others 420. 000 became eligible for the program since then, thanks largely to the incorporation of Venezuela on the list. On the other hand, El Salvador has 198.
nationals covered by TPS, followed by Honduras with 40. 350, Haiti with 40. 865 and Nepal with 15. 160.
The Biden Government included Venezuela among the countries designated for the program, and it is estimated that this extended the benefit to some 323. 000 people in total , but the designation has not been granted to Guatemala.
At the beginning of August the Biden government extended the registration period for citizens of Venezuela, and the Immigration Forum estimates that some 319. 000 Venezuelans could request that protection. The period to register and obtain TPS for Haitians began on August 3 and will remain in effect until February 3, 2023, the Service announced Citizenship and Immigration Department (USCIS).
The agency’s announcement opens the possibility that others 100. 000 Haitians obtain temporary protection .
Given that Congress has not intervened to grant legal permanent residence to TPS beneficiaries, the Executive Branch is “ making use of its limited powers to legalize unauthorized segments of the immigrant population, “said Jessica Bolter, from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI).
In addition to this initiative, immigrant advocacy groups are lobbying for Congress to pass legalization and a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants. Among them are those covered by TPS, beneficiaries of Deferred Action (DACA) and agricultural workers.
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