For Immediate Release
July 28, 2021
Media Contact
Erik Villalobos, evillalobos@ndlon.org
National TPS Alliance Poses 5 questions to the Biden Administration:
“When will you ask the Parliamentarian about our fate?”
Atlanta- In response to recent statements from the White House including President Biden’s response to the question about whether and how to include immigrant legalization in the upcoming budget reconciliation, Teofilo Martinez on behalf of the National TPS Alliance asked the following questions about what comes next:
“In effort to clarify confusion about its plan to change current policies that are depriving our families of equal rights, we urge the Biden Administration to answer these questions:
- When will you ask the Parliamentarian about our fate and specifically whether she deems immigrant legalization to comply with relevant Senate rules of procedure related to the budget reconciliation process?
- Who will qualify for legalization? Will you ask the Parliamentarian about ALL immigrants who would benefit from the legalization provisions in your Day One Bill? Will TPS holders be included? Will farmworkers? Will all immigrants who worked during the pandemic qualify for relief?
- How can we ensure transparency in this process? What can we do to help?
- What happens if the Parliamentarian says no? What is your “Plan B?” Do you agree with those who say legislation related to voting rights – including the rights of immigrants to adjust their status – should be passed without the filibuster in the Senate?
- Why was the restoration and expansion of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program left out of the administration’s recent plan for a Fair, Orderly, and Humane Immigration System? Can we assume work is already under way to provide deportation relief and work authorization to ALL immigrants living in the United States who are unable to safely return to their countries of origin?
“In the days and weeks ahead, we hope that these questions get answered directly by the Biden Administration, and we hope the immigrants most impacted by the brutality of current laws have the opportunity to make their case for permanent residency and political equality.”-Teofilo Martinez, TPS Holder, Georgia TPS Committee
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The National TPS Alliance is a grassroots organization comprised of over 50 committees nationwide, advocating for the permanent residency of beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status from the countries of El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, Nepal, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Yemen