Catholic Partners Urge DHS to Extend Temporary Protected
Status for Honduras and El Salvador
October 30, 2017
WASHINGTON—On October 30, 2017, Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of
Austin, Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee
on Migration, joined representatives of Catholic Relief Services (CRS),
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), and Catholic Charities USA
(CCUSA) in sending a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Elaine
Duke, urging an 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras
and El Salvador.
TPS is a temporary, renewable, and
statutorily authorized immigration status that allows individuals to remain and
work lawfully in the U.S. during a period in which it is deemed unsafe for
nationals of that country to return home.
The current designation for both
countries is set to expire shortly, but, as noted by the letter’s signatories,
“[t]erminating TPS at this time would be inhumane and untenable.” In the
letter, the partners shared insights from the recent USCCB/Migration and
Refugee Services (MRS) delegation trip to El Salvador and Honduras, and
Catholic partners’ work in the region and with affected communities in the
U.S., when explaining that the countries are not currently in a position to
adequately handle return of their nationals who have TPS.
As discussed in the USCCB/MRS trip
report, Temporary Protected Status: A Vital Piece of the Central
American Protection and Prosperity Puzzle, an extension of TPS
for both countries is crucial for humanitarian, regional security, and economic
stability reasons. Consequently, the partners urged Secretary Duke to extend
TPS for Honduras and El Salvador until individuals can return and reintegrate
into their countries safely. They also reiterated the Church’s commitment to “stand
ready to support measures to protect the well-being and dignity of Honduran and
Salvadoran families as the two countries are on the path to reform, addressing
citizen security and building protection infrastructure.”
Read the full letter here: https://justiceforimmigrants.org/news/catholic-partner-letter-dhs-requesting-extension-temporary-protected-status/.
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Keywords: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Bishop Joe S. Vásquez,
Committee on Migration, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Catholic Legal Immigration
Network, Inc. (CLINIC), Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), Homeland Security,
Elaine Duke, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Honduras, El Salvador, citizen
security, families.
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