On the recordNovember 7, 2017
The administration has announced that it will terminate temporary protected status, or TPS, for Nicaragua while extending the immigration protection for Honduras for merely 6 months. In the coming weeks, an announcement on Haiti's TPS designation is expected. I am greatly worried about these decisions because over 100,000 Hondurans and Haitians legally residing in our communities could be deported and forced to go back to the instability and chaos in their home countries. For years, the United States has been providing necessary funding for Honduras, which is still struggling with crime and security challenges, and for Haiti, which continues to be impacted by devastating natural disasters. This is precisely why Congress enacted TPS: so that we can provide a safe haven to those who are unable to securely return to their home countries. Mr. Speaker, the decision to send these individuals back would be a setback to our bilateral relations with those nations while tearing these families apart. I strongly urge the administration to extend TPS for Hondurans and Haitians residing in our beautiful country. ____________________
