Trump’s court victory puts thousands of TPS recipients at risk of deportation in Florida
September 15, 2020
Yesterday, Donald Trump came closer to achieving his radical immigration agenda when the 9th Circuit Appeals Court overturned an injunction barring President Trump from terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 400,000 immigrants from Haiti, Sudan, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. The lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to end TPS cited Trump’s racist and derogatory remarks about these countries, including calling them “sh--holes,” saying that the administration was “motivated by its racism against non-white, non-Europeans immigrants.”
In 2017, the Center for American Progress estimated that there are 44,800 TPS holders from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti in Florida. CAP also estimated that 28,000 U.S.-born children in Florida have parents protected by TPS that are now in danger. Trump’s war on TPS, a policy that provides safety and protection for those seeking asylum in the United States from dangerous governments and natural disasters around the world, is a threat to thousands of families in Florida.
Today, Biden for President National Latino Media Director Jennifer Molina released a statement on the court decision, saying, “TPS recipients and their families, whether from Nicaragua, Haiti, or any country affected by this inhumane decision, should be assured that Joe Biden will continue to fight for a fair, humane, and orderly immigration system that is defined by compassion, not cruelty."
Miami Herald: Federal appeals court decision brings Trump administration closer to ending TPS
“Hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been legally living and working in the United States on a temporary basis — some for decades — could find themselves in deportation proceedings as early as March, if a decision Monday by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California stands.”
“Among the plaintiffs’ arguments, which the court rejected in its appellate decision: The White House pressured DHS and State Department officials to end the program, and the president’s animus toward immigrants of color was a motivating factor in his decision to strip them of the benefit.”
“The decision comes just 50 days before the U.S. presidential election and as immigration continues to be a flashpoint. While Democratic nominee Joe Biden has promised to roll back Trump’s sweeping immigration changes — more than 400 executive actions — Trump has promised to tighten them.”
“Noting that an estimated 130,000 TPS holders have been classified by DHS as essential workers in a recent study, Bastien said, the Ninth Circuit’s decision ‘highlights the urgency for the Senate to act now bypassing the Dream and Promise Act HR6 and for voters to register to vote en masse on Nov. 3 like their lives depended on it.’”
“Lili Montalván said she’s lived in the United States for 25 years, 20 of those as a TPS beneficiary. ‘We are part of this nation, we are part of the economy,’ said Montalván, a Fort Lauderdale mother of an 18-year-old and 6-year-old, who cleans homes for a living and works as an organizer. ‘It’s a bad decision.’"
September 15, 2020
For Immediate Release
Contact: Frances Swanson