For Immediate Release

September 1, 2020

Media Contact: 

Erik Villalobos, evillalobos@ndlon.org, (626) 491-3330

Martin Pineda, mpineda@carecen-la.org, (213) 712-4022

National TPS Alliance Reaction to USCIS Policy on TPS

Nationwide — In response to the Trump Administration’s USCIS officials blocking advanced parole for certain TPS holders that travel abroad, National TPS Alliance Regional Organizer Claudia Lainez made the following statement:

“Despite what Trump’s officials say, our lives are not temporary. This is another effort by the Trump administration to bar immigrants from any legal pathway towards obtaining citizenship.

“The racism against TPS families, against Black and brown immigrants’ lives, is well documented and easy to see. The question is, how long will national leaders leave our lives in their hands?”

 – Claudia Lainez, TPS Holder and Regional Organizer for the National TPS Alliance

Background:  On Monday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) broke with a long term practice in immigration policy in the US, announcing it would adopt an Administrative Appeals Office decision blocking the application of “advanced parole” for TPS holders after having traveled outside of the country with DHS-issued travel documents.  The new interpretation of the policy, under INA section 244(f)(3) (known as Advanced Parole) is one more of the many avenues for permanent residency that have been blocked by the Trump Administration.  

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