Immigrant Rights Coalition Urges Congress to Pass H.R.6

Communities United for Status & Protection Urge Senate to Pass
American Dream and Promise Act to Provide Permanent Status to TPS Holders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2021

CONTACT
Jeralyn Cave
Jeralyn.cave@gmail.com
412-682-0798

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act, a bill that would allow immigrant youth and individuals with Temporary Protective Status (TPS) to become Legal Permanent Residents (LPR) if they have lived continuously in the U.S. for three years and meet certain criteria. Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP), a national coalition of grassroots immigrant organizations working to secure permanent status and protection for TPS holders, submitted a Statement for the Congressional Record to the Committee urging the Senate to pass The American Dream and Promise Act, which includes a provision to grant a permanent pathway to citizenship for TPS holders and was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support.

According to CUSP in their Statement to the Committee, “Many TPS holders have lived in the U.S. for decades.  They have continued to serve as frontline workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and would be integral to any infrastructure efforts undertaken in the country moving forward, and they contribute significantly to the economy and social fabric of the country.”

 “I am a Sudanese TPS Holder, and I have been here for 20 years. I have never lived in my home country, nor can I live anywhere else since this is the only place I’ve ever really ever known. We need a real solution!” Ahmed Osman, a Sudanese TPS Holder, New York resident, and African Communities Together member

“I own a transportation company called Sherpa Transportation and my wife works in a restaurant. COVID was hard on both of us, but I feel that I have achieved my American dream. My son attends Colorado State University and thankfully, we have been able to continue both of our work and the business,” Nabin Sherpa, a Nepali TPS holder and Adhikaar member living in Colorado. “I don’t know how long I will be able to stay in this country after contributing my 23 years to the United States. We cannot live in this way anymore and that is why TPS is not enough.” 

More from CUSP’s statement: 

“In spite of their tenuous immigration status, TPS holders put their lives on the line in service to their adopted country while working in healthcare, food service, manufacturing, transportation, and more. As a result of their essential employment, TPS holders were more likely to contract and die from COVID, yet their efforts helped keep the economy running. At risk to their own health, and in spite of uncertainty, TPS holders worked to ensure access to essential services and kept the economy moving.”

“Congress must not allow the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of these immigrants who have kept America safe and healthy during one of the nation’s darkest moments, but should work to provide them with a path to permanent status so they can truly thrive. The time is now. Americans across the political spectrum support a path to citizenship for TPS holders. This is why CUSP urgently calls on the Senate to pass H.R. 6 to provide much-needed stability to the nation’s immigrant communities.”

Read the full Statement for the Record here. 

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Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP) is a collaborative of grassroots immigrant community organizations working together to win permanent status for our members and communities, and build a more inclusive immigrant rights movement that centers the needs and experiences of African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, Arab/Middle Eastern, and API immigrants.

The UndocuBlack Network (UBN), founded in 2016, is a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources and contributes to transforming the realities of our people so we are thriving and living our fullest lives. UBN has chapters in New York City, the DC/MD/VA area, and Los Angeles, CA.

Adhikaar (Nepali: rights) is a New York-based non-profit, organizing the Nepali-speaking community to promote human rights and social justice for all. We are a women-led workers’ center and community center focused on workers’ rights, immigration rights, access to affordable healthcare and language justice. We organize the Nepali-speaking community to create broader social change; build coalitions on advocacy campaigns that address our community's needs; center women and the most impacted communities in our leadership; engage members in participatory action research; and implement community education, workplace development training, and support services.

African Communities Together (ACT) is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide. ACT empowers African immigrants to integrate socially, get ahead economically, and engage civically. We connect African immigrants to critical services, help Africans develop as leaders, and organize our communities on the issues that matter.

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization based in Southern California that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies and connects migrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women, LGBTQAI+ individuals and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. Since 2015, HBA has provided services to asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, in U.S. detention, and during U.S. immigration proceedings.

National Network for Arab American Community (NNAAC) is a national consortium of independent Arab American community-based organizations. The Network’s primary mission is to build the capacity of Arab American non-profit organizations that focus on the needs and issues impacting their local community while collectively addressing those issues nationally

UndocuBlack Network: Haitian TPS Redesignation is a Lifeline for Thousands and a Reminder of the Power of Organizing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 22, 2021

CONTACT:  

Bethelhem Negash, Bethelhem@undocublack.org

Adela de la Torre, adela.delatorre@gmail.com 

WASHINGTON -- Buzzfeed News reported today that the Biden administration will redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. TPS protects any Haitian immigrant in the U.S. on or before May 21, 2021 from deportations and provides them with work authorization. This move comes after years of concerted advocacy led by Black immigrants. The Trump administration stripped Haiti of its TPS status in 2017, after evidence emerged of racist motives behind the move. 

“Today’s news is the result of countless hours of organizing, advocacy, and mobilization among Black immigrant leaders,” said Patrice Lawrence, co-director of the UndocuBlack Network. “But while we celebrate today’s news, we know the work is only beginning. Other majority-Black countries, including Cameroon, Mauritania, Bahamas and St. Vincent, also must receive TPS designation immediately.” 

“Haitian communities are celebrating today, not just for ourselves, but because today’s news is a reminder to all of us that efforts to do what’s right are effective,” said Shelly Clermenco, a Haitian TPS holder and advocate. “But this is just the beginning. We need Congress to do what is right and provide a path to citizenship so that my family and I can live fully and freely. Our lives are not temporary.” 

For more information about advocacy around Temporary Protected Status, please visit https://undocublack.org/tps. 

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National Immigration Coalition to U.S. Senate: “No More Temporary Solutions. Pass Permanent Legislation to Protect TPS Holders Now!”

Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP) Urges Passage of SECURE Act to Provide Pathway to Citizenship for 400,000 TPS Holders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2021

CONTACT
Jeralyn Cave, Jeralyn.cave@gmail.com, (412) 682-0798
Asha Noor, asha@africans.us, (202) 420-9744

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, a national coalition of immigrant rights organizations urged Congress to pass legislation allowing over 4000,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders to secure permanent protection by providing a pathway to Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status. In testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, members of Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP), a coalition of national organizations working to win permanent status for immigrant communities, urged the swift passage of the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and in Emergency Act (SECURE Act, S. 306). The legislation would allow current TPS holders to apply for permanent status after three years of U.S. residency, providing much-needed stability to their communities. 

“Unfortunately, many immigrants fleeing political turmoil, armed conflict, environmental disaster, epidemics, and other extraordinary conditions in their home country don’t find protection in the United States,” said Guerline Jozef, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “What they find is an unjust immigration system that threatens to send them back to perilous conditions at any moment, despite the fact that they have made America their home. TPS holders like Rose Tilus and Namrata Pokhrel have started businesses, completed higher education, added to our economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, and lived here for sometimes up to 20 years. We have an obligation to provide a permanent solution to those who have added so much to our nation, and that includes passing the SECURE Act.”

There are currently 411,000 TPS holders in the United States from countries including Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria,Venezuela, and Yemen. Individuals are granted protected status for a defined period between 6-18 months. When a nation’s status is recertified by the Department of Homeland Security, TPS holders from that country must reapply and pass a background check. 

“As one of approximately 56,453 TPS holders from Haiti, I am a Family Nurse Practitioner who has worked on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Rose Tilus, Haitian TPS holder from Rhode Island and witness at the Senate Hearing. “I tested positive for COVID-19 and all of my family members living with me got COVID, including my aunt who ended up in the hospital and on a ventilator for a week. Fear and anxiety are always in the background, that I might suddenly have to leave my home. I’ve lived in the United States for 20 years, since I was 17 years old. TPS allowed me to get my undergraduate and master’s degrees. I love my work, I love serving the community in Rhode Island.” 

Testimony from TPS holders underscored the need for federal legislation protecting workers and exemplified a collection of  CUSP member stories submitted to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee detailing the experiences and reflections of immigrants from around the globe. 

“I am a Sudanese TPS holder, and I have been here for 20 years. That's more than half my age, and I’ve been working and paying taxes, so I would love to see TPS become permanent, and for us to get a clean path to citizenship,” said Ahmed Osman, a Sudanese TPS Holder from New York. “We don't know what the future holds, and nothing is guaranteed in this way. TPS the way it is now doesn’t offer security, no future, no longevity. I have never lived in my home country, nor can I live anywhere else since this is the only place I’ve ever really ever known. We need a real solution!”

“In the past, the immigration ‘solutions’ passed by Congress have failed because they have been temporary fixes to a long-standing issue,” continued Jozef. “Some TPS holders have placed their lives and futures on hold, living deadline to deadline, because they lack a pathway to a permanent life in the U.S. Despite this, many go on to become leaders in their communities, leaders of the nation’s social movements, and employers in our neighborhoods. Imagine what our nation would be if we provided this group with the stability that allowed them to thrive?”

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Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP) is a collaborative of grassroots immigrant community organizations working together to win permanent status for our members and communities, and build a more inclusive immigrant rights movement that centers the needs and experiences of African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, Arab/Middle Eastern, and API immigrants.

The UndocuBlack Network (UBN), founded in 2016, is a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources and contributes to transforming the realities of our people so we are thriving and living our fullest lives. UBN has chapters in New York City, the DC/MD/VA area, and Los Angeles, CA.

Adhikaar (Nepali: rights) is a New York-based non-profit, organizing the Nepali-speaking community to promote human rights and social justice for all. We are a women-led workers’ center and community center focused on workers’ rights, immigration rights, access to affordable healthcare and language justice. We organize the Nepali-speaking community to create broader social change; build coalitions on advocacy campaigns that address our community's needs; center women and the most impacted communities in our leadership; engage members in participatory action research; and implement community education, workplace development training, and support services.

African Communities Together (ACT) is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide. ACT empowers African immigrants to integrate socially, get ahead economically, and engage civically. We connect African immigrants to critical services, help Africans develop as leaders, and organize our communities on the issues that matter.

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies and provides  bond support and humanitarian, legal, and other social services, with a particular focus on Black immigrants, the Haitian community, women, LGBTQAI+ individuals and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. Since 2015, HBA has provided services to asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, in U.S. detention, and during U.S. immigration proceedings.

National Network for Arab American Community (NNAAC) is a national consortium of independent Arab American community-based organizations. The Network’s primary mission is to build the capacity of Arab American non-profit organizations that focus on the needs and issues impacting their local community while collectively addressing those issues nationally

U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety Hearing to Examine the Essential Role of Immigrant Workers in America

Communities United for Status and Protection

Statement for the Record

May 12, 2021

Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP) is a collaborative of grassroots immigrant community organizations working together to end the uncertainty that TPS holders in our communities live with everyday, and to build a more inclusive immigrant rights movement that centers the needs and experiences of African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, Arab/Middle Eastern, and Asian Pacific Islander (API) immigrants. The member organizations include Adhikaar, African Communities Together (ACT), Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), National Network for Arab American Community (NNAAC), and The UndocuBlack Network. 

CUSP is grateful to Chairman Alex Padilla (D-CA) and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety Subcommittee for convening this vital  hearing on the essential role that immigrant workers served during, and prior to, the COVID-19 crisis. We stand with the many organizations advocating on behalf of essential workers seeking a path to citizenship and highlighting the contributions of the more than 400,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders -- one-third of whom were  classified as essential workers during the COVID-19 crisis. 

Congress has an obligation to provide relief for uncertainty that people living with Temporary Protected Status must contend with. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed American Dream and Promise Act (HR 6) with bipartisan support. CUSP calls on the Senate to pass similar bipartisan legislation or The SECURE Act of 2021 (S. 306), or this through Reconciliation.  

TPS is granted to nationals fleeing countries undergoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions. This designation prevents holders from being deported and allows them to earn a living and provide for their families. Many TPS holders have lived in the United States for over two decades, having arrived as children and are now raising their own U.S.-born children. In the face of unrelenting uncertainty, TPS holders have also contributed almost $4.6 billion in taxes to their adopted home.  

When their services were needed, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to “maintain the services and functions Americans depend on daily,” one-third of TPS holders went to work as essential workers. 

During the COVID-19 crisis, TPS holders put their lives on the line to do those jobs that could not be done remotely. As a result, these individuals were more likely to contract and die from COVID-19. Around 11,600 TPS designees are healthcare workers, providing direct patient support. Seventy-six thousand TPS holders are employed in food-related occupations such as farming and agriculture, food manufacturing, delivery, restaurants, and food service establishments. Immigrants with TPS work in other vital areas such as waste management, transportation, and automotive repair and maintenance. 

Namrata Pokhrel, Nepali TPS holder from Texas

“I am a proud single mother of a daughter who is working as a nurse. Within a couple of years of getting my work permit through TPS, I was able to acquire two businesses (gas station and convenience stores), in Dallas and Texarkana. TPS has given this mother and daughter the opportunities that we could never have imagined back in Nepal, especially as a single mother family. Yet, the uncertainty that TPS entails has been very stressful for us. We need permanent residency so that I can grow my businesses further, my daughter can be ensured of longer-term employment in health services, and we can both continue to give back to the community the way we always have been even while in temporary status. As one of the over 2,500 TPS holders from Nepal, we are calling on Senator Cornyn and Senator Cruz to go beyond partisan politics and support us, their constituents. We are building the economy of Texas at this critical time. Texas is our home and community.”

Rose Tilus, Haitian TPS holder from Rhode Island and Witness at the Senate Hearing to  Examine the Essential Role of Immigrant Workers in America

“As one of approximately 56,453 TPS holders from Haiti, I am a Family Nurse Practitioner who has worked on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. I tested positive for COVID-19 and all of my family members living with me got COVID, including my aunt who ended up in the hospital and on a ventilator for a week. Fear and anxiety are always in the background, that I might suddenly have to leave my home. I’ve lived in the United States for 20 years, since I was 17 years old. TPS allowed me to get my undergraduate and master’s degrees. I love my work, I love serving the community in Rhode Island.`` 

TPS holders helped keep the American economy running from coast to coast during an unprecedented crisis. In fact, the largest populations of TPS holders in essential occupations live in California (27,200), Texas (20,700), and Florida (17,900). Immigrant essential workers make up almost 1 in 5 of the total U.S. essential workforce.     

Despite their essential nature, TPS holders do not have a path to permanent residence, nor is their TPS designation automatically renewed. At least every 18 months the DHS Secretary decides whether to extend a country’s TPS designation whereupon TPS holders must register their presence again, pass a background check, and pay significant fees. TPS holders have faced years, often decades of uncertainty, not knowing whether they would be uprooted and  returned to dangerous conditions or a country that is no longer home and is ill-equipped to receive them. Congress has an obligation to end this uncertainty. 

CUSP is thankful to all essential immigrant workers, including TPS holders, for their  efforts during these extraordinary times, often at great risk to themselves and their families. Again, we urge the Senate to recognize the efforts and sacrifices of essential workers and TPS holders by making them permanent members of our communities. The Senate must include them in any immigration package that moves, including through reconciliation.

The UndocuBlack Network (UBN), founded in 2016, is a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources and contributes to transforming the realities of our people so we are thriving and living our fullest lives. UBN has chapters in New York City, the DC/MD/VA area, and Los Angeles, CA.

Adhikaar (Nepali: rights) is a New York-based non-profit, organizing the Nepali-speaking community to promote human rights and social justice for all. We are a women-led workers’ center and community center focused on workers’ rights, immigration rights, access to affordable healthcare and language justice. We organize the Nepali-speaking community to create broader social change; build coalitions on advocacy campaigns that address our community's needs; center women and the most impacted communities in our leadership; engage members in participatory action research; and implement community education, workplace development training, and support services.

African Communities Together (ACT) is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide. ACT empowers African immigrants to integrate socially, get ahead economically, and engage civically. We connect African immigrants to critical services, help Africans develop as leaders, and organize our communities on the issues that matter.

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization based in Southern California that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies and connects migrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women, LGBTQAI+ individuals and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. Since 2015, HBA has provided services to asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, in U.S. detention, and during U.S. immigration proceedings.

National Network for Arab American Community (NNAAC) is a national consortium of independent Arab American community-based organizations. The Network’s primary mission is to build the capacity of Arab American non profit organizations that focus on the needs and issues impacting their local community while collectively addressing those issues nationally

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With six month deadline looming, Biden administration risks repeating Trump failure on green cards for Liberian immigrants

Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Contact: Jose Magaña-Salgado at jose@masadc.com 

Washington, DC -- New data released by the Congressional Research Service on May 6, 2021, shows that the Biden administration is on the verge of repeating the Trump administration’s failure to successfully implement the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) program. Out of 10,000 eligible individuals, the federal government has processed fewer than 800 applications. The current deadline for the program is December 20, 2021. 

Congress enacted LRIF in December 2019 to create a pathway for citizenship for Liberians who have called the U.S. home for more than five years. Many eligible Liberians previously lived on temporary immigration statuses including both Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) due to two civil wars and the Ebola epidemic. Originally only a one year program, USCIS’s LRIF processing delays and burdensome requirements -- requirements made impossible to meet because of the compounding COVID-19 pandemic -- led advocates to fight for and secure a one-year extension.

The LRIF Strategy Group -- a focused coalition of local, state, and national-level organizations that provide direct legal and other community-based services to Liberians in the United States and includes experts in USCIS operations, implementation issues, and Liberian cultural competency -- have sent multiple sets of recommendations to the Biden administration to address the ongoing issues and ensure the program meets Congressional intent. 

“On Day One of his administration, President Biden ordered the Department of Homeland Security ‘to review the LRIF application procedures administered by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to ensure that they facilitate ease of application and timely adjudication,’”said Diana Konaté, Policy Director at African Communities Together. “With only six months to go in this program, we have yet to see any meaningful adjustments to the ongoing issues that have led to this program failing. While the Biden administration didn’t create these issues, it must fix them immediately. The human consequences are devastating, with thousands at risk of losing the chance of the stability citizenship would provide to them and their families. ” 

Pamela Roberts, a staff attorney representing more than a dozen LRIF applicants at HIAS Pennsylvania said: “Representing LRIF applicants who have been facing inconsistent and unnecessary demands for evidence from USCIS -- which are more than what the law itself requires -- has been extraordinarily challenging. USCIS already had crisis-level backlogs and these implementation issues contribute directly  to the completion rate of only 20 percent of submitted cases to date. While USCIS developed and implemented the onerous evidentiary requirements and processing practices under the previous administration, over a month into the Biden administration, USCIS conducted a nationwide webinar that confirmed those practices are continuing; without substantive adjustments, there is no way this program can meet Congressional intent.”

“It is key to remember that earnest public outreach and community engagement should be part of USCIS’s implementation of this program,” said Breanne Palmer, Policy & Community Advocacy Counsel at UndocuBlack Network. “Since December 2020, only 700 more LRIF applications have been submitted. We need to see meaningful and culturally competent systemic engagement between USCIS and the Liberian community nationwide, and we need USCIS to coordinate with ICE to make sure that eligible Liberians in detention can also apply. The Black immigrant advocacy community stands ready to assist but at the end of the day, USCIS alone has the power to bridge these gaps.”  

“More than a decade after back-to-back civil wars ravaged Liberia from 1989 to 2003, many of those who sought safety and family reunification in the U.S. are still waiting for green cards and citizenship. This new law is vital to close the chapter on the insecurity that Liberians in our country have faced. Liberians in Massachusetts and neighboring Rhode Island have become part of the fabric of our communities and we call upon immigration services to do a better job helping them secure their status under this important program,” said Georgia Katsoulomitis, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.  

“LRIF is the first program in more than a decade to create a pathway to citizenship for a community that already calls the U.S. home,” said Nana Gyamfi, Executive Director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. “In the larger context of the Biden administration calling for a pathway to citizenship for 11 million people, DHS and USCIS must work now to make the LRIF program a success. Without proper implementation, good policy turns into empty promises. This is the moment for the administration to show that its stated vision on both immigration and addressing anti-Black systemic racism in the U.S. is backed by action. The administration must do what it takes to make this program a success for the Liberian community and for our country as a whole.” 

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Biden’s Invisible Wall: New Report Describes the Hardships that Title 42 Expulsions Create for Haitian Migrant Families and Calls on Biden to Stop Expelling Migrants to Haiti

Media Contact:

Nicole Phillips, Legal Director, Haitiian Bridge Alliance, nmp.law@gmail.com, +1 (510) 715-2855

Tom Ricker, Policy Director, The Quixote Center, tomr.quixote@gmail.com

San Diego, California, March 25, 2021 -- Today, one year after the “Title 42” policy was enacted, the Haitian Bridge Alliance, Quixote Center and UndocuBlack release the report, The Invisible Wall: Title 42 and its Impacts on Haitian Migrants, and call on the Biden-Harris Administration to immediately revoke Title 42 and end expulsions to Haiti. According to Guerline Jozef, Executive Director of Haitan Bridge Alliance, “Most if not all of the expulsions to Haiti are per the Title 42 policy, which was adopted  under a false pretext of the coronavirus pandemic. Title 42 is Trump’s invisible wall that effectively closed the U.S.-Mexico border to migrants.” “Our Report,” says Ms. Jozef, “presents the voices and hardships of Haitian migrant families who have been abused in immigration custody and then expelled under the Title 42 policy without the opportunity to seek legal counsel or request asylum or other protection.”

On February 1, 2021, the first day of Black History Month, the U.S. government drastically expanded removals and expulsions to Haiti. Rather than dismantle the Trump Administration’s invisible wall, the Biden-Harris Administration doubled down. More Haitians have been removed per the Title 42 policy in the weeks since President Joe Biden took office than during all of Fiscal Year 2020. The Report provides the narratives of Haitian families who were apprehended at the U.S. Mexico border within the last year under the Title 42 policy and were subject to expulsion to Haiti or Mexico. 

The Report explains how Haitian migrants are expelled under the Title 42 policy without being informed whether or when they will be expelled, and without the opportunity to seek asylum or other forms of protection.  “Abigale” (name changed), a Haitian woman interviewed for the Report, describes the cruelty of immigration officials during her family’s expulsion, “None of the officers ever confirmed that we were being deported. No one would even say the word deportation. None of them, through this whole process. All the families were crying on the bus, for over an hour. My husband and others kept asking what was going on, if they were deporting us. They would not tell us anything despite our desperation. It was all extremely emotional.”

“The Biden-Harris Administration has continued cruelty against immigrants,” said Patrice Lawrence, Co-director of the UndocuBLack Network. “We hope that this will not be their legacy. It is cruel to use Title 42 as a loophole for deporting immigrants in general and Black migrants in particular. It is a euphemism for removals and deportation of immigrants which the Trump Administration deemed expendable in the wider context of its eugenic agenda of creating a Whiter America and atmosphere of nativism. The invisible wall named Title 42 keeps at bay brown and Black people fleeting war, violence, poverty and disasters under the pretext of protecting Border Protection officers from COVID-19 and to minimize the number of persons in congregate settings, such as immigration detention centers. The Biden-Harris Administration continues to ignore the cry and plight of immigrants that are being forced to board a plane and are taken to the very places they escaped from. The xenophobic language of the previous Administration might be gone, but the practices still remain.”

“There is no sound public health rationale for the Title 42 ban on migrants,” says Tom Ricker, Policy Director with the Quixote Center.  “The idea for the policy came not from public health officials, but from the Trump White House. The entire justification for the Title 42 policy is the claim that the United States lacks the capacity to safely detain people. Yet, the United States is holding people for weeks only to then put them on crowded planes. How do you deny someone asylum who has been placed in detention – with no legal representation at all - based on the argument that there is no capacity to detain them?”

The Report also describes the high security risks that Haitian migrants face when they are expelled to Haiti or Mexico. As one woman who was recently expelled to Haiti under Title 42 describes, “Now the country is in more turmoil so I’m even more afraid to leave [my home]. If these people find us, they would just kill us this time around.” 

“Haitian migrants flee violence, instability and persecution in Haiti, then travel a long and treacherous journey to the U.S.-Mexico border seeking safety and security in the United States,” says Nicole Phillips, Legal Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “Instead of security, they are abused by immigration officers and - under the Title 42 policy - summarily expelled back to the country they fled without any chance to seek protection. As this Report explains, these expulsions are not only tragic, they are illegal.”

The authors offer nine recommendations. “First,” says Ms. Phillips, “the Title 42 policy must be revoked immediately. It is also critical that asylum processing resumes, while migrants are released to shelter in place with their loved ones in the United States rather than being detained. Incarceration must stop.”

The Full report can be read here.

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We Were There From the Very Beginning and We Will See It Passed Into Law: UndocuBlack Celebrates House Passage of H.R. 6, The American Dream and Promise Act of 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, March 18th, 2021

Contact: Bethelhem Negash bethelhem@undocublack.org

Washington D.C.--  When we fight, we win! We fought until the final minutes leading up to today’s House vote, and we won! The passage of H.R. 6, The Dream and Promise Act brings with it expansive changes that are crucial for the Black undocumented community, including in Section 1 of the bill, allowing young people who entered at the age of 18 and under to qualify for permanent residency.  This is a historic step towards transforming an immigration system that has caused so much harm in our community. It is imperative that the Senate quickly take up this bill which passed with increased bipartisan support along with H.R. 1603, The Farm Workforce Modernization Act and allow for its swift passage into law. 

Patrice Lawrence, Co-Director of UndocuBlack Network said: 

“In the last Congress, UndocuBlack and Black immigrant partners led by the Liberian Community ushered in the first legalization win in 20 years for 10,000 members of the Liberian Community.  With success under our belt and the affirmation that organizing works, we are not accepting talk at the expense of action any longer for the remainder of our undocumented community.  

Securing permanent protections for immigrant youth, TPS, and DED holders is a must. As a multi-generational Black undocumented community, we have waited in limbo, faced exploitation, and survived the trauma of being separated from our loved ones and homelands. We have long recognized the need for permanent protection as a critical component of racial justice, and we have been marching the halls of Congress demanding it since 2016. To be truly free means we must dismantle all systems and mechanisms of oppression in deed, policy, and law.”  

With The Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6) passed out of the House,  the Senate has the opportunity to put solidarity into action. For our community, H.R.6 was never a marker bill meant to exist in name alone. The goal has always been to pass it into law. We urge the Senate to do so by passing H.R.6  into law by summer 2021.  We expect nothing less than citizenship for our communities.

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Historic American Dream and Promise Act Reintroduced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, March 4th, 2021

Contact: Asha Noor, asha@africans.us, (202) 420-9744

Washington DC. Yesterday, Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard along with Representatives Yvette Clarke and Nydia Velazquez re-introduced H.R.6, also known as the American Dream and Promise Act. This bill would provide a clear pathway to citizenship to more than 3 million Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. CUSP encourages immediate passage of this bill, as the momentum and trajectory is a direct result of the power of our movement and our unyielding fight for permanent solutions. 

If passed, the bill would first grant conditional permanent resident (CPR) status to beneficiaries,  then lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, and eventual citizenship for immigrant youth who entered the U.S. at or before the age of 18, have had continuous physical presence in the U.S. since January 1st, 2021, and who are earning or have earned a high school diploma (or another equivalent). The bill would also provide current or eligible TPS and DED holders who have been in the U.S. for at least 3 years and would have been eligible for TPS or DED in January 2017, the chance to immediately apply for LPR status and eventual citizenship. Importantly, the bill forbids ICE from removing people with the new CPR status, DACA recipients or people who would have been eligible for DACA, as well as children 18 or under who will eventually become eligible for CPR status. It allows folks who were deported or voluntarily departed the U.S. after January 2017 to apply for CPR or LPR status from abroad. For hundreds of thousands in our communities, this bill’s passage would be a huge sigh of relief, after living decades in this country on temporary status. 

This legislation is not without problems, however. Despite the fact that the criminal justice system disproportionately targets Black and brown communities, the bill as introduced yesterday would make the same criminal exclusions a pillar of stone in a ‘transformative’ immigration system, even after 280 organizations called for their removal. We say shame on the secretive and opaque manner in which the bars were negotiated, without consultation with the communities they directly affect and shut out of the bill’s bounty. This will cruelly deny relief to Black and brown members of our community, shrinking eligibility for status and eventually citizenship through unfavorable yet inconspicuous terms of conditions.

We say shame on the legislators who insisted on keeping these harmful provisions. However we also recognize this moment in that it is an opportunity to win a pathway to citizenship for millions in our communities, and so we strongly urge Congress to say YES to HR6. 

“This isn’t a political issue, this is a humanity issue, and especially in this moment as a worker on the frontlines, we need support. I have been in this country for 14 years, and with TPS I have found some relief, but we are in an unstable situation. How much longer will we live in this lingering state? I ask those in Congress, this is not a political negotiation, this is my life. We need permanent residency.”

• Sajjan Pandey, Nepali TPS holder, Adhikaar member and plaintiff on TPS lawsuit, Bhattarai v Nielsen

“I understand my privilege as a Black DACA recipient. There are stipulations regarding criminality that block many Black immigrants from accessing DACA. I also acknowledge the struggle of renewing my access and privilege every two years to be exploitive and unstable. Although there has been a cultural shift, from referring to people as illegal to now “individuals who are long-term United States residents”, verbiage is not enough. As we continue to push for citizenship for  11 million undocumented people in the U.S., I am grateful for the 2021 Dream Act and a chance at permanent protection.”

• Joella Roberts, DACA recipient and UndocuBlack Member 

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About Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP) and its Core Organizations:

Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP) is a collaborative of grassroots immigrant community organizations working together to win permanent status for our members and communities, and build a more inclusive immigrant rights movement that centers the needs and experiences of African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, Arab/Middle Eastern, and API immigrants.

The UndocuBlack Network (UBN), founded in 2016, is a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources and contributes to transforming the realities of our people so we are thriving and living our fullest lives. UBN has chapters in New York City, the DC/MD/VA area, and Los Angeles, CA. 

Adhikaar (Nepali: rights) is a New York-based non-profit, organizing the Nepali-speaking community to promote human rights and social justice for all. We are a women-led workers’ center and community center focused on workers’ rights, immigration rights, access to affordable healthcare and language justice. We organize the Nepali-speaking community to create broader social change; build coalitions on advocacy campaigns that address our community's needs; center women and the most impacted communities in our leadership; engage members in participatory action research; and implement community education, workplace development training, and support services. 

African Communities Together (ACT) is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide. ACT empowers African immigrants to integrate socially, get ahead economically, and engage civically. We connect African immigrants to critical services, help Africans develop as leaders, and organize our communities on the issues that matter.

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization based in Southern California that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies and connects migrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women, LGBTQAI+ individuals and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. Since 2015, HBA has provided services to asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, in U.S. detention, and during U.S. immigration proceedings. 

National Network for Arab American Community (NNAAC) is a national consortium of independent Arab American community-based organizations. The Network’s primary mission is to build the capacity of Arab American non profit organizations that focus on the needs and issues impacting their local community while collectively addressing those issues nationally.