A group of 26 Democratic senators requested this Tuesday, July 18, the Joe Biden government to redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for migrants from Nicaragua and Venezuela who are in the United States.
Through a letter addressed to the secretaries of the Department of State, Antony Blinken, and the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas; The legislators urged the US administration to grant this benefit to Nicaraguans and Venezuelans given “the extraordinary humanitarian crises in these countries.”
The letter seeks to pressure the Biden government to provide protection to these groups of migrants in the face of the difficult conditions they face in their places of origin.
Related news: The US extends TPS to protect migrants from Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador
“A TPS redesignation for each of these countries would extend these same benefits to people already in the United States,” the lawmakers said.
“TPS offers temporary relief from removal and access to work permits for eligible foreign citizens who cannot return safely to their home countries due to natural disasters, armed conflict, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions,” they recalled.
In the letter, the Democratic senators also stressed that this benefit for Nicaraguans was designated for the last time in 1999, after the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch in October 1998. Despite the fact that this protection has been extended several times “it was terminated by previous administration. The rescission was blocked by a preliminary injunction and the original designation was reinstated and extended for months in July 2023.”
“In recent years, conditions in Nicaragua have drastically worsened, which justifies the redesignation of TPS for the country,” they highlighted.
On July 13, the United States Department of Homeland Security extended the TPS designation for migrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal for 18 months.
Currently there are more than 400,000 people, from 16 countries, covered by TPS. According to the pro-immigrant group Immigration Forum, among them are 251,567 Salvadorans, 80,709 Hondurans and 4,526 Nicaraguans. In addition, up to 323,000 Venezuelans could obtain that immigration protection.
Citizens of those countries who arrive after the date of the initial designation can only obtain protection if the government makes a new designation for their countries.
