Photo Credits: http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180105230120-daca-tps-protest-washington-exlarge-169.jpg
Info on TPS: https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/FR/HTML/FR/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-70259/0-0-0-70281/0-0-0-70926.html
Following major earthquakes that shook El Salvador in 2001 (a 7.6 earthquake on January 13, which left at least 844 dead and 4,723 injured and a 6.6 earthquake on February 13, which left at least 274 dead 2,191 injured, both of which left over a million people displaced and caused billions of dollars in damage), the United States under the George W. Bush administration granted Salvadorans affected by these events Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. People who apply for TPS and pay hundred dollar fees are not required to leave the United States and are instead able to extend their stay via 18-month renewable extensions, working as a sort of semi-permanent residency pass.
However, the Trump administration now wants to repeal TPS permits from the almost 200,000 Salvadorans who depend on them for their US residency, claiming that the issues caused by the devastating quakes “no longer exist.” According to the Department of Homeland Security, these Salvadorans now have until September 9, 2019 to move, face deportation, or “seek an alternative lawful immigration status in the United States” - a period of time the Department claims will provide an “orderly transition” for these people and will “allow Congress to craft a potential legislative solution” for those who have lived and worked in the US for years.
There are multiple great concerns about the potential outcomes of this, mainly surrounding the economic status of the country. Almost one fifth of El Salvador’s GDP consists of money sent from relatives working in the US, so removing this TPS status may lead to an economic crash. Marshela Margerin of Amnesty International claims that this may coerce people to resort to kidnapping, becoming part of gangs, or becoming part of the sex industry. This can also pose as a huge problem for the American work force, as 88% of Salvadoran TPS migrants work here.
Questions
- The Department of Homeland Security states that this 18-month delay period can be used by Salvadoran TPS immigrants to find an “alternative lawful immigration status.” Given the large number of people wanting to immigrate to the United States, do you think this is at all possible?
- Why do you think the Trump administration chose to do this now, of all times?
- To what extent do you believe the term “Temporary” in the TPS acronym should extend?
- What do you think will happen to the children of these TPS migrants once the September 2019 date comes, especially if the children are citizens but their parents are not?
- The Department of Homeland Security states that this 18-month delay period can be used by Salvadoran TPS immigrants to find an “alternative lawful immigration status.” Given the large number of people wanting to immigrate to the United States, do you think this is at all possible?
- Why do you think the Trump administration chose to do this now, of all times?
- To what extent do you believe the term “Temporary” in the TPS acronym should extend?
- What do you think will happen to the children of these TPS migrants once the September 2019 date comes, especially if the children are citizens but their parents are not?
4 comments:
I think that the word "temporary" should extend until the time that the Salvadoran TPS immigrant has made a decision on what he is going to do regarding the repeal of the TPS passes, whether that be seeking out U.S. citizenship, or figuring out a way that he can sustain himself back in Salvador. I personally do not think that 18 months is enough for these decisions to be made, and that is why I think temporary should be word defined more on a "case by case" basis (although having some sort of limit such as 3 or 4 years would be a good idea). I am quite concerned about the children of these immigrants since they really did not do anything to deserve this difficult situation. I hope that the Trump administration takes the children into account and maybe decides to extend the residency status of families with children who are U.S. citizens, or assists the other family members in attaining U.S. citizenship as well.
Immigrants with TPS status should have a sufficient amount of time to apply for other immigration status, but I don't think that 18 months is enough time for a process that is so long and arduous. Ultimately, the US should act in a manner that is reasonable, supportive, and empathetic to the residents, especially those that are family members of citizens or have very little options.
I believe that trump decided to this now as his way of following the statement he made before about keeping out immigrants. My parents come from this nation and I understand how difficult it was for them to become US citizens, along with the challenges that wait in El Salvador. These people simply want more opportunities for themselves and for those they love. Trumps idea of kicking out these immigrants, who have worked for nearly two decades in this country, comes off as a lack of respect to these people who simply seek to succeed.
I agree with both Jason and Kevin in that the process to become an American citizen is very long and strenuous. The process is hard enough in normal times, but now, with this new mandate for these people to leave our country if they are not citizens, there will be an increase of Salvadorans applying for citizenship. This will make it even harder for these people to get through the already challenging process. Not only that, but Trump has been trying to cut down the number of immigrants to come into our country, meaning that fewer people will be granted citizenship to the US, even if they follow the proper legal procedure. I definitely don't think that 18 months is enough time for these families and people to sort out their situation, and it is not fair for our government to force them back into a country they have not lived in for years without proper time to make any necessary arrangements.
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