Decision Places 4,600 Honduran New Yorkers In Peril
NEW YORK, NY - After six months of uncertainty, today the Trump administration terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Hondurans - which will deprive them of their ability to work and force them out of the country. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has given those with TPS an 18-month grace period, ending on January 5th, 2020. The decision will affect 57,000 people nationwide, 4,600 of whom reside in New York.
Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition, issued the following statement:
“Trump’s vindictive assault on immigrants takes another sad step. For the past 19 years, Honduran TPS recipients have made immense contributions to the social and economic fabric of our New York. How will America be greater or safer by forcing our Honduran neighbors, coworkers and friends to leave?”
“I am distraught at the DHS decision to end TPS for me and for 57,000 of my fellow Hondurans. I have watched how this administration has cruelly ended this program for one country after another, throwing into chaos the future of hundreds of thousands of families like mine. We have paid taxes, bought homes, started businesses and raised families here. We have been scrutinized every 18 months like no one else in this country. I hope that Congress will do the right thing and approve a long-term legislative solution so we can continue contributing to the communities where we have built our lives,” said Perla Canales, who has had TPS since 1999 and lives and works in Staten Island.
Honduras is the sixth country to lose Temporary Protected Status designation under the Trump administration. Trump previously terminated TPS for nationals of Sudan, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, and Nepal, to take effect in periods ranging from 12-18 months.
Background
Temporary Protected Status is a designation afforded to nationals of countries experiencing humanitarian crisis such as violent conflict, environmental disasters, or epidemics that would prevent nationals from returning safely. As of today, there are an estimated 325,000 TPS recipients living in the United States, representing ten TPS-designated countries: El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Over 30,000 TPS recipients reside in New York. Since President Trump assumed office, the Department of Homeland Security has terminated TPS for El Salvador, Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan, all which will expire in the upcoming two years.
###