CWS Condemns TPS Termination, Which Could lead to Family Separation & Deportation of Hundreds of Thousands in the United States


September 14, 2020

CWS urges Trump Administration to reinstate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Sudan, Haiti and Nepal for at least 18 months, and calls for a legislative solution

Washington, D.C.—CWS today condemned a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allowing the Trump Administration to end the Temporary Protective Status Program (TPS) for El Salvador, Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, Honduras and Nepal. The ruling, if not appealed, would go into effect next year and could lead to the deportation of individuals in the United States who pay taxes, contribute to the economy and participate in their communities—many for decades—working and raising families. More than 130,000 essential workers alone could be impacted by the decision.

“TPS holders are integral members of our communities. They pay taxes, they start businesses, they volunteer, and during a pandemic that is ravaging our nation, they are serving on the frontlines. To take away their protected status is cruel, not just because it will destroy everything they’ve built here, but because it could return them to potentially dangerous conditions,” said Rev, John L. McCullough, President and CEO of Church World Service. “The administration knows what these people will face, yet they continue to marginalize, exclude and deport those whose only wish is to remain safely in our nation. Should this ruling ultimately hold up, it would place more than 300,000 of our neighbors at risk, separate families and destabilize regional security, which would inevitably drive further displacement.”

Today’s decision—which removes a preliminary injunction in the Ramos v. Nielsen and Bhattarai v. Nielsen cases— served a blow to plaintiffs who are TPS holders and U.S. citizen children of TPS holders. The plaintiffs alleged that the decision to terminate status was based on a flawed reading of applicable law and driven by the administration’s anti-immigrant, white supremacist agenda. There are more than 300,000 people with TPS living in the U.S. and tens of thousands of citizen children. 

CWS calls on the administration and Congress to support legislation, such as H.R. 6, The Dream and Promise Act, that would ensure stability and a pathway to citizenship for TPS recipients who have lived here for many years, so that they can remain together with their families and continue to contribute to their communities.

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 CWSGlobal.org. 

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