Velázquez Seeks TPS Fix in Appropriations Bill

Washington, D.C.- Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) today led 40 Members of Congress in calling for legislation in upcoming Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bills to protect immigrants covered under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). In a letter to House appropriators, the Members ask that future appropriations bills preclude funds from being used to detain or remove immigrants covered under TPS or DED.

"The Trump Administration has made a series of coldhearted, shameful rulings with regards to TPS, targeting hardworking immigrants and threatening to tear apart families," said Velázquez. "We must use every tool at our disposal to ensure these immigrants are protected, including utilizing the appropriations process to block the Trump Administration's anti-immigrant policies, if necessary."

Velázquez is the author of the American Promise Act, legislation that would protect from deportation individuals who currently receive TPS and DED.

A .pdf of the letter is online here and the full text is available below.

March 19, 2018

The Honorable John Carter The Honorable Lucille Roybal-Allard

Chairman Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Homeland Security

Committee on Appropriations Committee on Appropriations

Dear Chairman Carter and Ranking Member Roybal-Allard:

As you begin consideration of the Fiscal Year 2019 Homeland Security Appropriations bill, we respectfully request that you include report language to protect beneficiaries who are currently in possession of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and current Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders. Over the course of the past few months, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced decisions to terminate TPS for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador. TPS, governed by statute, and DED, as a presidential directive privilege, have long been viewed as a practical and effective tool for American foreign policy by both Republicans and Democrats. TPS beneficiaries live and work legally in the United States and were given an opportunity to do so given extraordinary hardships in their respective countries of origin. Their immediate departure, in some cases after 20 years of legal presence, poses a hardship for our communities. It also poses a financial burden on taxpayers: the deportation of Salvadoran, Haitian and Honduran TPS holders would cost at least $3.1 billion. American firms could also see their retention costs increase, as the loss of this population would generate almost $1 billion in turnover costs.

Congress currently has provided 4 TPS-specific legislative vehicles in the House, both Republican and Democratic, to provide protection from deportation, and to varying degrees, pathways to permanent residency. Despite current efforts, the upcoming deadlines for Sudan (November 2, 2018), Nicaragua (January 5, 2019), Haiti (July 22, 2019) and El Salvador (September 9, 2019), would suggest that an immediate legislative fix is not possible for any TPS recipients facing deportation in the short-term future. Given these extraordinary circumstances, we respectfully request that the following language be inserted for the Fiscal Year 2019 Homeland Security Appropriations bill:

None of the funds appropriated by this Act or prior acts may be obligated or expended to apprehend, detain, or remove from the United States any alien who was granted Temporary Protected Status under Section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, or granted Deferred Enforced Departure provided by the Presidential Directive issued on September 28, 2016, or eligible for either status, on January 1, 2017, if the alien lost their temporary protected status, or deferred enforced departure, solely as a direct or indirect result of any action taken by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the President, or any other Federal official with respect to such program or presidential directive, and not for any other reason.

Providing this critical language will help establish a sense of Congress' ability to address this issue and provide the necessary time for the legislative process to provide the appropriate protections needed for TPS and DED holders.

Sincerely,

Nydia M. Velázquez

Elijah E. Cummings

Alcee L. Hastings

Yvette D. Clarke

Eliot L. Engel

Adam Smith

Mark DeSaulnier

Eleanor Holmes Norton

Norma J. Torres

James P. McGovern

Sheila Jackson Lee

Raúl M. Grijalva

Adriano Espaillat

Kathleen M. Rice

Michael E. Capuano

André Carson

Ro Khanna

Albio Sires

Jan Schakowsky

Terri A. Sewell

Dina Titus

Jimmy Gomez

Grace F. Napolitano

Jamie Raskin

Beto O'Rourke

Pramila Jayapal

Keith Ellison

Dwight Evans

John Lewis

Zoe Lofgren

Danny K. Davis

Michelle Lujan Grisham

Linda T. Sánchez

Brenda L. Lawrence

Nanette Diaz Barragán

Diana DeGette

Bennie Thompson

Jimmy Panetta

Stacey E. Plaskett

Donald M. Payne, Jr.

###