With about a month left in his term, President Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure to take decisive action to protect immigrants currently in Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
At a press conference on Wednesday, three Democratic senators, Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Alex Padilla (California), and Ben Ray Luján (New Mexico), stressed the urgency of the issue, warning of potential consequences if swift action is not taken.
Jose Cabrera, a TPS beneficiary from El Salvador who has resided in Maryland for over thirty years, joined the senators at the event. Mr. Cabrera’s current status protects him from deportation and allows him to work legally in the United States, reported www.newsfromthestates.com.
The TPS for El Salvador, due to expire in March, and that for Nicaragua, scheduled for July, are raising growing concerns about the incoming administration’s immigration policies. Cabrera and others in a similar situation fear that mass deportations will target them if their status expires.
“We know the new administration will try to implement chaotic immigration policies that will separate our families,” said Ms. Cortez Masto. She asked the Biden administration to redesignate TPS for El Salvador and Nicaragua and extend it to Ecuadorian nationals. This request reflects growing concerns about the safety of return to these countries and the potential humanitarian impact of forced deportations.
TPS, a temporary provision, allows nationals of certain countries to reside and work in the United States under conditions such as armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary circumstances. However, this status is not a pathway to citizenship and must be renewed periodically. More than a million immigrants benefit from TPS designations, which currently cover 17 countries, reported www.newsfromthestates.com, a Washington-based news organization. The importance of the program has been highlighted in cases such as the protection of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.
Andrea Flores, vice president of immigration policy at FWD.us, criticized the potential rollback of TPS protections, pointing to the devastating consequences of mass deportations. “These people will now lose their legal status in the next administration,” she told www.newsfromthestates.com, warning that those deported could face persecution, or worse, in their home countries.
The courts have already blocked Trump’s attempts to end TPS for Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Sudan in 2018, but new threats loom as Trump prepares to return to the White House much more determined and powerful, with Republicans in control of all branches of power: executive, legislative, and judicial.
Senators Padilla and Luján also highlighted the economic ramifications of mass deportations, arguing that removing TPS and DACA recipients from the workforce would destabilize industries that depend on immigrant labor. “By withdrawing work authorization from hundreds of thousands of workers, we are eviscerating our own workforce,” said Mr. Padilla. Likewise, Mr. Luján pointed to the broader impact on mixed-status families, whose different members have different immigration statuses, and the potential ripple effects on the U.S. economy.
DACA, another key program under scrutiny, faces an uncertain future as it awaits a federal court ruling on its legality. The program protects immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, known as Dreamers, from deportation and allows them to work legally. In a recent interview, Trump hinted that he was willing to work with Democrats to find a solution for DACA recipients but provided no concrete details.
Senator Cortez Masto expressed skepticism about Trump’s intentions, referring to his rejection of a bipartisan proposal in 2018 that would have granted Dreamers a path to citizenship in exchange for border wall funding. “The last time he said that, and we presented him with a bipartisan bill to do something to protect our Dreamers, he killed it,” she noted.
Human rights advocates remain concerned about the potential misuse of data collected from DACA applicants. Juliana Macedo do Nascimento of United We Dream, herself a DACA beneficiary, stressed the need for a firewall between U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “The government has all our information. It can potentially come after us at any time,” she warned, underlining fears that ICE would exploit USCIS data for deportation purposes.
Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, urged Dreamers to continue renewing their DACA status in order to extend their protection. He encouraged applicants to act sooner rather than later, given the program’s uncertain future.
The Biden administration has yet to respond publicly to these calls to action, but time is running out. Trump’s previous efforts to dismantle immigration protections and implement harsh deportation measures have set a clear precedent, and many fear history may repeat itself. Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups are pushing for immediate action to protect vulnerable communities and preserve the economic contributions of immigrant workers. The stakes are high, with millions of lives at stake.
This report is based on a story by www.newsfromthestates.com.