By Isaac Ceja
02 Nov 2023, 01:50 AM EDT
Members of the Mexican community asked President Joe Biden to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to citizens of Guerrero, a Mexican state that was devastated by category five Hurricane Otis.
“In this difficult time for the residents of the devastated city of Acapulco, urgent circumstances demand an immigration policy consistent with that reality,” members of the Full Rights Coalition for Immigrants wrote in a letter.
“Therefore, we would like to affirm in the strongest possible terms the importance of you granting Temporary Protected Status to all undocumented workers in the state of Guerrero and who are considered essential to the American economy.”
According to the United States Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services, TPS can be designated in a country due to temporary conditions such as armed conflict, environmental disasters, and other extraordinary conditions.
During this period, people with TPS cannot be removed from the United States, they can obtain an employment authorization document and travel authorization. Additionally, once TPS is granted, DHS cannot detain a person based on their immigration status within the nation’s borders.
It is important to understand that TPS is a temporary benefit and does not grant legal permanent resident status, or any other immigration status, but it does not prevent you from applying for other immigration benefits or protections for which you may be eligible.
Last week, at dawn on October 25, the tourist city of Acapulco was devastated by Hurricane Otis with winds that exceeded 165 miles per hour, the city was destroyed, thousands of people were affected, dozens of people died (47 as of yesterday). and dozens missing. .
By the time the widespread destruction ended, large trees had been uprooted, homes, hospitals and hotels were flooded and damaged beyond recognition. Until yesterday, the federal government had estimated 51 thousand homes with total loss and 80 thousand homes with serious damage.
During the press conference held yesterday in Placita Olvera, Aniceto Polanco, originally from Acapulco but a resident of Los Angeles for more than 20 years, asked President Biden for help.
“Our state was devastated, it was demolished, many lives were lost and we are going to work hard and strong, but for that we are asking for that temporary protection for our brothers, so that they can work freely in this country and we move forward and support our families in “Acapulco.”
For Polanco the situation is more complicated because he has family that was directly impacted by the hurricane.
After saying a few words into the microphone, Polanco called his brother Octavio, who lives in Acapulco, by phone to see if he needed monetary help or what type of support was most needed.
“Acapulco is a disaster, as if a bomb had fallen that ended everything,” Polanco’s brother said into the receiver. “But after a week the situation is still depressing, little by little the city is recovering.”
The Acapulco resident also mentioned that although some reports say that the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) already has electricity service at 90%, the reality is that many people still do not have electricity, including him who has been without electricity for eight days in the area where he lives, just north of the Acapulco International Airport.
He added that the hurricane arrived almost midnight and did not leave until three in the morning.
He also indicated that he lives one kilometer from the beach and in his house the windows were broken, the roof was destroyed and the hood of his car was blown off.
In the morning, all the neighbors helped each other lift sheets and cut trees.
“Since I have a grocery store, I have a little water and a little food stored,” Octavio stressed. “We share it with the neighbors and that’s how we continue to survive.”
He stressed that to date the help has been a little slow because the organizations are mainly focused on cleaning the roads and tracks so that more help can enter the community.