Trump ordered to send home more than 300 000 refugees living in the US for decades

The administration of US President Donald Trump is determined to significantly reduce, or even cancel, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which allows refugees from several countries with difficult conditions to have a legal temporary residence permit in the United States, which is often extended for decades, writes USA Today.

Фото: Depositphotos

Despite the fact that for several months, US embassies in the affected countries warned Washington that stopping temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants would harm these people, their home countries and the “US national interests”, the Trump administration remained adamant.

This is stated in the report of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, compiled by Democrats within this body.

In particular, the document states that the representatives of the US embassies in El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti, for whose citizens TPS is operating, sent a report to the White House stating that these states are unable to receive dozens or even hundreds of thousands of people who suddenly return home after the termination of the program.

American diplomats in Haiti have noted that the repatriation of 46 000 citizens of this island nation who now legally reside in the US will hamper the ability of the Haitian National Police to maintain control of the country, which suffers from high crime and economic problems.

In El Salvador, US embassy officials said that returning 195 000 people to this country, and so suffering from economic problems, is likely to only increase the flow of illegal immigration to the north, including in the United States.

Representatives of the American Embassy in Honduras noted that 57 000 people returning to the country from the United States would be recruited by the very gangs that the Trump administration spends so much time and money on fighting.

In addition, according to American diplomats, in each case, a backlash from the governments of these countries is also possible, which, most likely after the return of refugees, will limit cooperation with US officials regarding illegal immigration, anti-drug operations and other regional decisions. problems.

In connection with these concerns, representatives of US embassies in El Salvador, Haiti and Honduras recommended extending the TPS for citizens of these countries located in the United States.

But this did not affect the decision of the Tampa administration, and the program for these countries was completed. In total, the administration has announced the termination of TPS for six countries whose citizens make up 98% of 317 000 people who have used the program for legal residence and work in the US for decades.

The report of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee states that former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was aware of all these warnings, but “ignored a lot of evidence” and recommended terminating the program. The document also states that the White House “has repeatedly tried byInfluence decision-making processes ”regarding state and national security,“ to ensure a predetermined result ”.

Senator Robert Menendez, a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and one of the authors of the report, led the investigation into the actions of the presidential administration regarding the abolition of TPS, he also stated that he had asked to investigate these decisions to the Government Accountability Office.

A complication of the situation is the fact that TPS holders, during their time in the United States, gave birth to 273 000 children who are legally American citizens. This means that their parents will have to decide whether they will return to their homeland with children who are US citizens; will they return to their home country themselves, leaving the children alone in the US; or whether they will remain in the United States as illegal immigrants, looking after their children and fearing deportation.

TPS is an immigration law program introduced in 1990 year and allowing the US government to grant temporary work permits and protection against deportation to immigrants, including illegal immigrants, from certain countries where living can be dangerous.

To be eligible for this status, there must be either armed conflict or civil war, or natural disasters, epidemics and “other emergency and temporary conditions” in the immigrant’s homeland.

The status of protection against deportation is temporary, but crises in many countries last for several years, with the result that some immigrants under this program have remained in the United States for decades.

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