Anxiety grows among Minnesota Liberians, Central Americans as TPS decisions loom
The Trump administration is about to decide whether to continue a program called temporary protected status for several Central American countries and a similar program for
Critics argue these programs were meant as only short-term reprieves but instead have lasted for years or even decades after natural disasters hit and civil wars ended, shielding some who came illegally or overstayed visas. But local immigrants and advocates say TPS countries remain unstable places. After years in immigration limbo, their citizens here have earned a shot at staying permanently.
"You're dealing with countries where what is predictable is ongoing strife and ongoing dysfunction," said
Now, some are lobbying for legislation that would open a path to citizenship for program recipients, saying an end to TPS would upend the lives of longtime residents with
A mixed message
The Trump administration has sent mixed messages so far. In May, it granted a six-month extension to 60,000 Haitians given TPS after the 2010 earthquake. On Monday, the administration said it would end TPS for
Earlier in November, the
A statement invoked "the difficulty facing citizens of
The call for a legislative fix cheered immigrant advocates such as Keller.
But he say he remains pessimistic about upcoming decisions: on
The
Abdullah Kiatamba, a Liberian community leader who heads the nonprofit African Immigrant Services, estimates thousands in
TPS was approved for
"For a lot of people, there's a life-and-death urgency around this," Kiatamba said.
The north metro is one of
Liberians and other West Africans are a mainstay of the labor force at metro nursing homes and other health care facilities.
Those positions would be hard to fill if immigrants lost their work permits, says
"If you ask a nursing home administrator who the personal care assistants and nursing assistants are, chances are they'll be immigrants," he said, adding. "The Liberians are part of our economy now."
Her mother traveled to
"It was a pretty tense time," Abraham said. "It didn't feel like protection at all."
With extensions often coming just as the status was about to expire, she scrambled to renew her work permit, and her driver's license was suspended several times. She lost a summer job at a grocery store because she couldn't renew her permit on time.
Two years ago, Abraham got a green card after her mother, who married a
She qualified for federal loans and financial aid and was able to transfer to the U from a community college.
A lobbying push
TPS critics are also watching the administration's upcoming moves closely. Despite "an indecisive decision" on
He says many TPS countries were troubled places before disaster stuck, and
In the case of
"We owe them something because we were overly generous in the first place?" Mehlman said. "That defies logic."
Meanwhile, local activists are springing to action, often advocating for both TPS and DACA, an Obama deportation reprieve program for young immigrants that Trump is phasing out.
Abraham traveled to
Last spring, Ellison introduced a proposal to extend a separate TPS program for
That stalled, and now he is reintroducing another bill that he has championed since 2011, the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act, which opens a path to citizenship for longtime immigrants from
"Pulling the rug out from underneath [TPS recipients] by terminating their protection is wrong," Ellison said. "It not only uproots the lives of our neighbors in
Advocates say they also will lobby
Kiatamba says most recipients of the Ebola TPS, which expired in May, never returned home. More cancellations will only send more people into the immigration shadows.
"The outcome will depend on us -- how much we push," Kiatamba said.
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