Sending Yemenis back to horrific conditions is “heartless” says CEO of Church World Service

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 5, 2018

CONTACT: Bilal Askaryar | baskaryar@cwsglobal.org | 202-750-0960

 

 

Sending Yemenis back to horrific conditions is “heartless” says CEO of Church World Service

 

DHS’ decision comes as the country faces the world’s worst humanitarian crisis

 

In response to the announcement that the Department of Homeland Security will extend for 18 months Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for current Yemeni TPS holders, but not redesignate it for those who have arrived in the United States during the last 18 months, Church World Service President and CEO Rev. John L. McCullough issued the following statement:

 

“While we join the many Yemeni TPS holders and their families who welcome the 18-month extension for those who have already benefited from this designation, I am deeply troubled by Secretary Nielsen’s decision to deny protection to recently-arrived Yemenis who would be forced to return to a home rife with violent conflict. The United States is an active party in the ongoing armed conflict in Yemen that has cost countless lives and created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis as described by UN Secretary-General Guterres.

 

“Sending our Yemeni neighbors back to horrific conditions because they came after an arbitrary deadline is heartless. It is our moral and legal obligation to consider these conditions when choosing whether to return people to harm. I urge the administration and Secretary Nielsen to recall that the purpose of the TPS program is to protect people from these very same conditions, and I call upon Congress to put a halt to this administration’s pattern of dismantling the life-saving TPS program and pass legislation that would offer all TPS holders a permanent pathway to citizenship.”

 

More than 130 children die every day in Yemen from hunger and disease, as the food crisis worsens to 17.4 million food insecure people and 8.4 million facing severe food insecurity. Cholera is rampant and is exacerbated by the intentional targeting of water stations by military action, while ongoing armed conflict has disrupted medical infrastructure across the nation.

 

For more information or to speak with Rev. McCullough contact media@cwsglobal.org.

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 refugee and immigrant work atGreaterAs1.org.

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