Washington, D.C.—CWS today marked the one-year anniversaries of Hurricanes Eta and Iota which devastated much of Central America by calling on the Biden Administration to redesignate El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras, and to designate Guatemala, for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The organization notes that in the time since the hurricanes, vital infrastructure in the countries remains broken, hundreds of thousands are without homes, livelihoods have not been restored and a new food crisis looms over the region. TPS designations would support families already in the United States and will keep remittances to the countries, helping stabilize the region, and aid local economies.
“A year since the devastation of Hurricanes Eta and Iota and millions of Central Americans are still in harm’s way. Hundreds of thousands are without homes, travel is a near impossibility, agriculture has come to a stand-still, and internal solutions to displacement are not viable,” said Elissa Diaz, Policy and Advocacy Manager at CWS. “TPS designations would be a humanitarian solution that would prevent the return of families in our communities from being returned to danger. President Biden not only has the authority to designate El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala with this status, but the moral imperative to do so.”
Since 1946, Church World Service has supported refugees, immigrants and other displaced individuals, in addition to providing sustainable relief and development solutions to communities that wrestle with hunger and poverty.
For more information or to speak with Diaz, contact media@cwsglobal.org.