After Announcement of 18 month TPS Extension, Central American Migrant Families Call for Equal Rights
(Washington DC) In response to the USCIS notice released last night which announced an 18 month auto-extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for beneficiaries from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Haiti, and Sudan, Central American TPS Holders gathered in front of the White House to welcome the news.
This recent update comes just one night before the beginning of a planned hunger strike led by the National TPS Alliance which would call for President Biden to take immediate action for TPS beneficiaries whose protections were set to expire on December 31, 2022.
Members of the National TPS Alliance made the following remarks:
“This victory is a step in our struggle for permanent residency and equal rights! This is a result of TPS families who fought back & organized, those who fought in the courts, marched the streets of Washington DC, and lobbied congress to make their voices heard. This fight does not end here!”- Elsy Flores-Ayala, TPS Holder, plaintiff in Ramos v. Mayorkas lawsuit, member of the National TPS Alliance
“I arrived today from Los Angeles to escalate our call on Biden to take action for our families before our humanitarian protections expire at the end of this year. We are relieved to hear this news, let us be clear that this fight doesn’t end here. We have now indefinitely postponed our hunger strike but we will soon be back to further advance our fight towards permanent residency and equal rights!”- Evelyn Hernandez, TPS Holder, member of the National TPS Alliance
“No matter the outcome of midterm elections, congress will still have the power to pass legislation which grants permanent residency. We will continue to organize and find champions who will help us achieve this goal. The job for President Biden is also still far from finished. He must now re-designate TPS for countries represented in our lawsuit, designate protections for Guatemalans, & to other migrant and refugee communities in need of humanitarian protections.” -Concepción Morales, TPS Holder, member of the National TPS Alliance
“We were grateful for the chance to meet with Congressman McGovern just hours before receiving this news. We look forward to continue working with his office as we call on the Biden administration to use the full extent of its legal authority and political capital in order to ensure the permanent residency and equal rights that we deserve.” – Julio Perez, TPS Holder, member of the National TPS Alliance
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The National TPS Alliance is a grassroots immigrant rights organization of over 50 committees nationwide, advocating for the permanent residency of more than 400,000 beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
https://twitter.com/TPS_Alliance