Chicago City Wire

Washington, D.C. – This week, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez(IL-03), the Vice Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, joined the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Nanette Barragan (CA-44), Vice Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Rep. Chuy Garcia (IL-04), and her CHC colleagues to send a letter to the Biden Administration urging the redesignation of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua and the extension of the re-registration time frame for migrants to sign up. 

"Immigrants come to this nation hoping to start a new life and escape the brutal violence, deep poverty, and natural disasters that make it impossible to remain in their homes. While we know that comprehensive immigration reform would truly honor and protect the immigrant communities looking for refuge in our nation, the Biden Administration has the opportunity now to keep protecting those from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal by extending the registration period for Temporary Protected Status," said Congresswoman Ramirez. "Right now, the Administration has the power to move past the bureaucracy, keep families together, and provide people the opportunity they so desperately want and need to establish roots in a safe country, away from the natural disasters, violence, and political persecution that threaten their lives and well-being."

“I thank the Biden Administration for redesignating TPS until 2025 for these nations, but the 60-day re-registration period announced by DHS is inadequate. It puts more than 330,000 TPS beneficiaries at risk of losing their status,” said CHC Chair Rep. Barragan. “TPS holders have suffered through years of uncertainty and have struggled to keep up with the high flow of changing information. 60 days is not enough time for individuals to navigate America’s complex immigration process or for service providers to perform proper community outreach. The CHC calls on the Biden Administration to extend this deadline to protect TPS holders and their families.”

 “Immigrant families arriving in the United States want and are ready to work. Redesignating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for deserving immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua is the right thing to do, as is extending the current insufficiently short 60-day ‘re-registration deadlines’ for TPS recipients from these four nations to allow these families adequate time to re-register,” said CHC Vice Chairman, Rep. Adriano Espaillat. “These actions are in the best interest of our economy, the nation, and the communities that will benefit from the presence of these much-needed workers. TPS holders and their households contribute billions of dollars to the national economy annually, and we are urging the Biden administration to provide swift TPS relief and safety from deportation for immigrant families seeking refuge here in the United States.”

“While the Biden administration’s decision earlier this summer to extend Temporary Protected Status for migrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua gave some security to those whose status was in limbo, a lot of confusion and little time surrounded the re-registration process,” said Congressman Joaquin Castro. “We can't let bureaucracy get in the way of doing the right thing. The Biden administration should redesignate TPS to allow people who cannot return home safely to continue their lives in the United States and extend the re-registration period to ensure current TPS holders can renew their status."

"Asylum seekers make the journey to our country seeking safety, and red tape can be a serious difficulty as they apply for TPS,” said Congressman Chuy Garcia. “I’m glad that earlier this year the Biden administration heeded our call and extended TPS for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua. Now, the administration must redesignate those countries and extend registration periods so people fleeing danger have enough time to sign up for benefits and don't risk deportation.”

Originally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) automatically extended TPS protection to these nations until June 30, 2024 -- without the need for individuals to re-register. This announcement came following ongoing litigation that threatened TPS terminations for these four countries. 

However, on June 13, 2023, DHS announced that TPS beneficiaries from these countries must now re-register for the program within various 60-day re-registration periods (each nation was given separate 60-day deadlines based on when TPS was set to expire for their citizens) – putting more than 330,000 beneficiaries at risk of losing their TPS status. 

The current re-registration periods and deadlines TPS holders must register by are: 

• September 10, 2023, for El Salvador
• October 24, 2023, through December 23, 2023, for Nepal
• November 6, 2023, through January 5, 2024, for Honduras and Nicaragua.

 The letter was also co-signed by U.S. Representatives: Barbara Lee, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, Nydia Velázquez, Ritchie Torres, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Frederica Wilson, Jimmy Panetta, Jan Schakowsky, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jerrold Nadler, Sara Jacobs, Lizzie Fletcher, Raúl Grijalva, Darren Soto, Pramila Jayapal, James McGovern, Cori Bush, Nikema Williams, Greg Casar, Juan Vargas, Jimmy Gomez, Sylvia Garcia, Robert Garcia Dan Goldman, Grace Meng.

Read the full letter here. 

Original source can be found here.