Van Hollen, Cardin, Velázquez Lead Colleagues in Calling on President Biden to Review Countries for Temporary Protected Status

Press Release

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) and Representative Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.) today led their colleagues in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in calling on President Biden and DHS Secretary Mayorkas to use the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program broadly and boldly to safeguard vulnerable people.

"We respectfully request that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the U.S. State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), conduct an immediate review of at least 17 countries to determine their eligibility to be designated or redesignated for TPS, including: the Bahamas, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Mauritania, Nepal, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen. Reports indicate that conditions in each of these countries satisfy one or more conditions of TPS under 8 U.S.C. § 1254a," the lawmakers wrote.

The members continued, "We welcome your vision of establishing a fair, humane, and functional immigration system that protects those in need of refuge and promotes stability for Americans…. The full, expansive use of TPS designations, which is both in line with Congressional intent and the letter of the law, is a critical tool that can be used now to advance that long-term vision."

This letter reiterates the message expressed by over 310 local, state, and national organizations in a March letter. DHS has already announced new TPS designations for Venezuela and Burma and a re-designation for Haiti.

Joining on the letter are Senators Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), along Representatives Jake Auchincloss, Earl Blumenauer, Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D, Anthony G. Brown, André Carson, Joaquin Castro, David Cicilline, Yvette D. Clarke, Gerald E. Connolly, Val Demings, Mark DeSaulnier, Anna G. Eshoo, Adriano Espaillat, Sheila Jackson Lee, Pramila Jayapal, Mondaire Jones, Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee, James P. McGovern, Gregory W. Meeks, Grace Meng, Gwen Moore, Joe Neguse, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Frank Pallone, Jr., Mark Pocan, Ayanna Pressley, Jamie Raskin, Kathleen M. Rice, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Bobby L. Rush, Jan Schakowsky, Albio Sires, Dina Titus, Ritchie Torres, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Frederica S. Wilson.

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