For Immediate Release
TPS Alliance Reaction: COVID-19 Relief Package Including Extension for TPS Holders
Washington, DC – In response to the introduction of a fifth COVID-19 relief package in the U.S. House of Representatives including automatic extensions for both TPS and DACA recipients, the National TPS Alliance Regional Organizer William Martinez made the following statement:
“We are grateful for those representatives that are searching for real solutions and ensuring that our families – and over one hundred thousand essential workers with TPS status – are not denied once again. But we cannot rest while 400,000 families are at risk of being stripped of our legal status and separated from our loved ones.
“After living and working in the US for decades, millions of TPS, DACA, undocumented and mixed status families deserve the same rights as earlier immigrants that have planted roots here. We all know that means permanent residency. Now, with so many of us working in essential jobs, putting our health and our lives on the line so that many can stay safe at home, what excuse could there be for lawmakers to deny our families even a step in the direction?”
On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced the HEROES Act with provisions to extend TPS and DACA status, which had failed to be included in four previous COVID-19 bills that became law. The current bill, which is yet to be voted on by the House and faces stiff opposition in the Senate, would extend the status of TPS holders for 18 months. A recent report found more than 130,000 TPS beneficiaries are essential workers on the frontlines of this pandemic.
A federal injunction in the two cases of Ramos and Bhattarai is the only thing preventing a new crisis of family separations. While only Congressional action can secure permanent protection for TPS families, the Trump administration continues to try to deport half a million TPS holders from half a dozen countries, including El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal and Sudan.
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