More than 318,000 holders of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and their families are on the tightrope, as a terrifying possibility looms on March 5, 2021 after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals endorsed him last month. White House plan to deport immigrants who received immigration benefits.
The TPS carriers affected by the ruling are parents or guardians of at least 280,000 American children, putting their well-being at risk, according to immigrant advocates.
The six states with the largest populations of TPS holders are concentrated in California (55,000), Texas (45,000), Florida (45,000), New York (26,000), Virginia (24,000) and Maryland (23,000).
This program, created in 1990 by the US Congress, grants permits to stay in the country to citizens from nations affected by armed conflicts, victims of violence or natural disasters.
That protection, originally conceived as a temporary relief, has been extended over the years, leaving its beneficiaries under an immigration status that prevents them from applying for residency or US citizenship.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) confirmed last week that Salvadorans and other TPS recipients who remain in the country without authorization after the program expires would be at risk of being deported.
In a telephone press conference last Thursday, ICE Assistant Director Tae Johnson indicated that as the agency in charge of executing deportation orders, it would in effect focus on enforcing the return of those who choose to remain in the United States once the temporary relief expires.
“Some will be deported, others may decide to leave on their own once TPS is terminated, but yes, at some point those individuals will be deported from the United States,” Johnson said.
However, immigrants, most of them Central Americans, estimate that November 3 would be a decisive day for their future and that of their families, since a possible change in administration could not only grant them more time in the country, but also a pathway to permanent residence.
Former President Joe Biden proposes to reverse the policies that led to the separation of immigrant families – which he considers “a national shame” – while trying to distance himself from the high number of deportations carried out by the Barack Obama administration. By then advocates and activists called the president the “deporter in chief.”
Biden expressed in the last debate that he plans to propose to Congress an immigration reform that opens the way to citizenship to immigrants who have lived in the country for years as part of a platform to get the country to restore its “moral position in the world and (its) historic role as a safe place for refugees and asylum seekers. “
Likewise, the former vice president proposes limiting the use of programs that force authorities within each state to cooperate with the immigration police.
If President Donald Trump wins re-election, activists and advocates predict that ‘Tepesianos’ will remain in the United States as undocumented immigrants, something that will lead them to survive in the shadows and on the brink of deportation. Or, some will choose to return to countries where they have not been for decades and which, in many cases, are impoverished and at the mercy of violence.
But also the economy of the states would be hit. According to the New American Economy (NAE), TPS holders paid more than $ 891 million in taxes and had nearly $ 6 billion in purchasing power for 2017. Furthermore, like most immigrants, they went into business at higher rates than the Native Americans. They also represent the workforce of key industries, from construction to hospitality. Approximately 130,000 TPS holders are essential workers, only 11,600 of them work in healthcare.
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