Media CenterCRS Backs Pathway to Citizenship for Temporary Protective Status Holders
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Tom Zolper
Catholic Relief Services
[email protected]
(410) 951-7110
Up to 400,000 TPS recipients have been living with uncertainty
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 11, 2019 – Catholic Relief Services (CRS) applauds passage in the House of Representatives of the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R. 6), legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for qualifying Dreamers, Temporary Protective Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders.
“We applaud the House of Representatives for providing a pathway to citizenship for these people, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders unable to return home due to natural disaster, conflict or other extraordinary conditions,” said Sean Callahan, CEO and president of CRS. “As many as 400,000 TPS holders live with uncertainty about their future while contributing to their communities. We urge the Senate to take up this legislation.”
“Without permanent protection, TPS recipients from countries such as El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti could be deported back to their home countries, which are overwhelmed from the consequences of natural disasters, gang violence, high unemployment and food insecurity,” Callahan said.
“CRS and the Catholic Church in Central America have documented that governments and communities there cannot accommodate the safe return and reintegration of these people,” Callahan said. “Furthermore, our decades of experience implementing programs for at-risk youth, subsistence farmers and poor and vulnerable families tell us that such an influx of so many people could bring catastrophic instability to these countries. Current conditions pose a threat to people’s safety and economic opportunities. It would be inhumane and untenable to terminate protections. We should put them on a firm path to American citizenship.”
Approximately 300,000 to 400,000 people are living in the U.S. with TPS. About 195,000 are Salvadorans, 57,000 Hondurans and 46,000 Haitians.
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Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, visit www.crs.org or www.crsespanol.org and follow Catholic Relief Services on social media in English at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube; and in Spanish at: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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