FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 8, 2017
CONTACT: media@cwsglobal.org
CWS Condemns TPS Termination for Nicaragua and Denounces Insufficient Six-Month Extension for Honduras
CWS urges Trump administration to reinstate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nicaragua, extend it for Honduras, El Salvador, and Haiti for at least 18 months, and calls for a legislative solution
Washington, DC – Church World Service condemned the inhumane decision by the Trump administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nicaragua, effective January 5, 2019, as part of a broader attack against immigrants in the United States. CWS denounced the administration’s lack of decision for Honduras, resulting in an unprecedented automatic TPS extension for only six months, until July 5, 2018. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke signaled the possibility that the TPS designation for Honduras might also be terminated at the end of that six-month automatic extension. People cannot live their lives in six-month increments. Nearly 60,000 Nicaraguan and Honduran TPS holders, as well as countless family and community members, are impacted by this announcement. As DHS considers its decisions on TPS for Haiti (due November 23, 2017) or El Salvador (due January 8, 2018), it is critical the administration recognizes the violence, weak institutions, and a lack of human rights protections in Central America, as well as food, housing, and public health crises in Haiti persist. CWS urges the administration to reinstate TPS for Nicaragua and extend TPS for Honduras, El Salvador, and Haiti for at least another 18 months.
“As people of faith, we recognize that TPS holders are integral members of our communities, congregations, and schools and whose countries of nationality have been devastated by conflict, disaster, or other extraordinary circumstances that make it unsafe for their return,” said CWS President and CEO Reverend John L. McCullough. “Rescinding TPS protections for Nicaraguans illustrates the administration’s prioritization of anti-immigrant sentiment over an honest assessment of country conditions. The administration’s failure to make a decision regarding Honduras is cruel and inhumane, as TPS holders will have to live with greater uncertainty and fear over the next six months. As El Salvador and Honduras suffer the world’s highest murder rates, Haiti continues to respond to and recover from multiple devastating hurricanes. Should the administration ultimately terminate TPS for Honduras, as well as for El Salvador and Haiti, it would place more than 300,000 of our neighbors at risk for deportation, separate families, and destabilize regional security, which would inevitably drive further displacement.”
We call on the administration and Congress to support legislation that would ensure stability for TPS recipients who have lived here for many years, would face extreme hardship if deported, or are otherwise eligible for permanent residence. CWS stands ready to support measures to protect the well-being and dignity of Central American and Haitian families. Please click here to see more information on this issue.
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. Learn more about our work and join our global homebase for refugee solidarity at GreaterAs1.org.
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