For Immediate Release
Friday, April 28, 2023
Media Contact
Erik Villalobos, evillalobos@ndlon.org
TPS Alliance Statement on Latest Biden Admin. Announcement on Asylum
(Massachusetts) In a press conference yesterday with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the Biden Administration has rolled out a series of plans intended to circumvent an expected surge of migrant entries at the US Mexico border once the pandemic-era Title 42 restrictions expire on May 11 of this year.
These plans include the establishment of migrant processing centers in Colombia and Guatemala, with future plans to eventually open centers in other countries across Central and South America. These centers would provide an opportunity for legal entry, and alternative, for those who seek to migrate north towards the US Mexico border. Biden officials have also announced the creation of a new family reunification parole process for prospective migrants who have family living in the United States, and are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia.
In addition to the newly announced legal pathways for entry into the United States, the administration also announced aggressive restrictions for those seeking asylum. Migrants who make an unlawful entry into the United States will be quickly removed, barred from re-entering the country for at least 5 years, and will ultimately be ineligible to apply for asylum.
In response to this announcement, Doris Landaverde made the following statement on behalf of the National TPS Alliance:
“While the newly announced asylum policies from the Biden administration could provide a safer alternative for migrants seeking to enter the United States, we are concerned that this will not be a real solution to the growing crisis the US government has at hand.
Earlier this week, through the support of TPS migrant families, Sociologist Cecilia Menjivar and Economist William Pleites released reports on the current social and economic conditions in both El Salvador and Honduras. The reports tell us a very troubling story – that due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, economic instability and social conditions, our native countries are not only unfit to receive a massive influx of its citizens who are already in the United States, but migration from these countries will intensify as conditions fail to improve.
This plan seeks to only provide asylum for those who have the means to ‘wait in line’, but criminalizes those who cannot afford to do so — and we are concerned that this is not a correct and sufficient way of addressing the current migration crisis in the region.
As we continue to fight for permanent residency and equal rights in the United States, we will also call on the Biden administration to take more immediate and forceful action which welcomes and protects all migrant families — this includes those of us who are already here, and those still hoping to arrive.”
– Doris Landaverde, TPS Holder, Leader in the National TPS Alliance
***To learn more about the reports on country conditions in Honduras & El Salvador, the National TPS Alliance will be hosting a Virtual Press Call with participation from Drs. Pleites & Menjivar on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023 at 11:00 AM PST/ 2:00 PM EST
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The National TPS Alliance is a grassroots immigrant rights organization, advocating towards permanent residency & Equal Rights for beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
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