Washington, D.C. — Today, The Washington Post reported that the State Department formally recommended that the Trump administration terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for nearly 300,000 Central Americans and Haitians. Tom Jawetz, vice president for Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement in response:
Ending TPS for nearly 300,000 Central Americans and Haitians—most of whom have lived and worked lawfully in the United States for more than 16 years—is wrong-headed on every level. Over the past two decades, while playing by the rules, these individuals have become integral members of our communities, working hard and raising more than 275,000 U.S. citizen children whose lives will now also be thrown into turmoil. Forcing these TPS recipients out of the workforce will rob the country of more than $164 billion in gross domestic product over the next decade, with the greatest losses taking place in California, Texas and Florida—three states that desperately need the help of their many thousands of residents with TPS who already work in the construction industry. Once more, it now falls to Congress to prevent this unnecessary tragedy from unfolding any further.
Daniel Restrepo, CAP’s senior fellow for National Security and International Policy, added:
Once again, the Trump administration is imperiling U.S. national security in the name of hardening U.S. immigration policies. Cutting off remittances and sending thousands back to one of the most violent regions of the world—the Northern Triangle of Central America—will destabilize countries whose cooperation is essential for confronting drug flows and human trafficking destined for the United States.
CAP experts are available to speak on this topic. To coordinate, please contact Rafael J. Medina at [email protected] or 202-748-5313.
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