
Catholic immigration activists connect with protection for Venezuelans an ‘answered prayer’
NEW YORK – A Catholic group targeted on immigration regulation and advocacy supports the Biden Administration’s Short term Secured Status (TPS) extension for Venezuelan migrants, contacting the conclusion “an answered prayer” for those people who qualify.
“This is welcome and relieving news indeed,” Anna Gallagher, govt director of the Catholic Lawful Immigration Community (CLINIC) reported in a Sept. 21 assertion.
“This temporary safety will be an answered prayer for thousands of Venezuelan guys, gals, and youngsters who have fled unsafe and unstable situations in their household nation in search of a safe and dignified lifestyle,” Gallagher stated.
Secretary of Homeland Stability Alejandro Mayorkas declared the TPS extension on Sept. 20, expressing the transfer was “due to the remarkable and temporary ailments in Venezuela that avoid men and women from securely returning.”
A statement from the Division of Homeland Stability stated that soon after examining the nation conditions in Venezuela and consulting with interagency companions, Mayorkas resolved that an 18-thirty day period extension and redesignation was warranted “based on Venezuela’s increased instability and absence of basic safety thanks to the enduring humanitarian, safety, political, and environmental problems.”
Venezuelan migrants who arrived in the United States prior to July 31, 2023, are suitable for the TPS. The redesignation presents temporary security from removal, as properly as employment authorization.
In accordance to the Section of Homeland Safety, there are currently close to 242,700 TPS beneficiaries less than Venezuela’s present TPS designation. There are an added somewhere around 472,000 nationals of Venezuela who may possibly be eligible underneath the redesignation, the department states.
“Temporary secured position presents persons already existing in the United States with safety from removing when the situations in their property place prevent their secure return,” Mayorkas stated in a Sept. 20 statement. “That is the predicament that Venezuelans who arrived right here on or before July 31 of this 12 months discover themselves in.”
The secretary made apparent, however, that Venezuelans who arrived in the U.S. immediately after July 31, 2023, are not eligible for TPS protection, and will be removed from the place if they are discovered to not have a authorized foundation to remain.
The Biden administration’s conclusion answers the call of a variety of Democrats who have advocated for prolonged do the job entry for migrants, specifically in New York, the place leaders have been vocal about the pressure the migrant crisis has put on metropolis methods.
In a statement, New York City Mayor Eric Adams noted that much more than 116,000 migrants have occur to the metropolis due to the fact previous spring.
“I am hopeful that we can keep on to companion with President Biden to prolong Short-term Protected Standing to the tens of hundreds of other migrants in our care from other nations around the world,” Adams explained in a Sept. 20 assertion.
“I look ahead to ongoing perform with our state and federal partners to produce relief for asylum seekers and longtime New Yorkers with a countrywide decompression method and expedited work authorizations so all those moving into our city and our place can provide for themselves and last but not least have a shot at residing out the American Aspiration,” he stated.
Karen Sullivan, director of advocacy at CLINIC said in a statement that the hope likely forward is migrants from other international locations will acquire a equivalent possibility to get the job done and stay in the U.S. Sullivan advocated for migrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to also get protection status.
There are currently 16 nations around the world with TPS designations in the U.S.: Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen. Info from earlier this 12 months compiled by the Pew Investigate Heart discovered that there are about 672,200 TPS recipients in the U.S.
“TPS is a policy software created for predicaments just like the a person going through Venezuelans, who are unable to return safely and securely to their dwelling country,” Sullivan reported. “We will continue to pray and act for the citizens of other countries who are in require of identical safety, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon.”
Observe John Lavenburg on X: @johnlavenburg