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Posted March 20, 2006
From Temporary Protected Status To Green Card:
Making The Case
A review of Sirleaf's landmark speech to
the US congress
In her landmark speech to a joint meeting of the United
States congress on 15th March, 2006, Liberia's post war president, Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf said Liberians are now tired with 15 years of civil war and
are geared up for the task of rebuilding to lift Liberia out of the
devastation of war. "Former soldiers tell me they are tired of war;
they do not want to have to fight or to run again. They want training. They
want jobs. If they carry guns, they want to do so in defense of peace and
security, not war and pillage. We must not betray their trust", she
emphasized.
The one time Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations used the
occasion to plead with US lawmakers on behalf of thousands of Liberians
residing in the United States under Temporary Protective Status. They are
Liberians who fled during the 15 years of conflict which claimed the lives
of more than quarter of a million people. "We must bring home more of our
refugees, and resettle the displaced. We must give them the tools to start
anew, and encourage more of our skilled expatriates, who have the knowledge
and the experience to build our economy to return home. For those unable to
come home now, we must appeal to you to grant them continuing protective
status, and residency where appropriate, to put them in a condition to
contribute to their country’s reform and development", president Sirleaf
told the US Congress. Her appeal received huge applause and standing ovation
in the packed chambers of the joint US congress.
Temporary Protective Status in the United States is generally granted to
nationals of countries that are undergoing the effects of ongoing
armed conflicts, disasters and human rights abuses. It is renewed on a
yearly basis, while the state department monitors situation in the affected
countries.
Analysis - Making The Case
Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf truely represented the cause of more than 10,000
Liberians whose legal fate (status) seem to be hanging in the balance. Even
those lawmakers on capitol hill who have been carrying the TPS burden on
their shoulders for years, have pretty much given up, because of the
increasing positive climate in the country, especially since the 2005
elections and subsequent inauguration of Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
The TPS issue has really struck a cord. But there are several important
reasons why thousands of Liberians should be hopeful that their situation
will turn for the better.
First, let's look at the track record of how TPS has been disposed of in the
past, regardless of what nationality was affected:
Since TPS was added to the Immigration and Nationality Act by the US
congress in 1990, 14 nations, including Liberia have benefited, without the
same congress coming clean on what should happen when TPS expires. As a
result, nationals of several countries and their advocates in congress and
other pressure groups have continued to press on for adjustment to permanent
resident status, but to no avail. The expiration of TPS usually leaves
immigration authorities with little or no choice but to ask nationals of
affected countries to voluntarily depart or be deported. Some leave
voluntarily while others refuse to do so, for fear that they may return to
continued hardships and perhaps face the extreme difficulty of readjustment.
The people of Nicaragua and Honduras have tried fruitlessly
to have status adjusted to permanent residency.
When there were no longer conditions for Sierra Leoneans to
continue benefiting from TPS, they were faced with deportation or voluntary
departure. Some of them returned while others refused to do so. When
Liberians were just about to face similar measures in 1999, another category
was established, specifically for them - Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED).
The DED is not an enactment of any new law by congress. Unlike the TPS which
must be re-designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the DED must be
designated my the president of the United States, which President Bill
Clinton did in 1999. That was after the election of Charles Taylor in 1997
as president of Liberia. Although Liberia had conducted what was seen as free
and fair elections, the country was still in a fragile state, and the
international community, including the US and the United Nations, did not
think Taylor could steer a peaceful state; and of course, we saw the
emergence of the LURD rebel movement which sparked an even more bloody civil
war. Thus, the TPS was re-designated for Liberians.
US Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas once said, "We
clearly have an internal problem that needs to be fixed. There needs to be
put in place an alternative method for encouraging TPS recipients to return
home after TPS expires. It is possible that repatriation assistance can be
offered. War, civil conflict and environmental disaster can fundamentally
alter a locality, region or entire country. A returnee may no longer have a
job, home or even family. In many countries, conflicts persist even after
the war is over, contributing to the difficulty of readjustment". She also
acknowledged that Liberians were the ones to stay the longest on TPS.
The congresswoman fully understood the limited flexibility
Liberians and other nationals are continuously faced with from the day they
are granted protective status. She too, has been advocating that there was
some internal problems congress needed to address. Now, we have reached the
crossroads.
When TPS is granted, the United States government allows
beneficiaries to live and work in the US, and requires them to renew their
status each year the Homeland Security department announces the dates for
such renewal. It does not restrict the fundamental rights and liberties of
beneficiaries. As a result, many Liberians were able to work, invest in
businesses, create new American families, pay taxes and earned social
security quota. Others on TPS have invested in education. They currently
support themselves in colleges and universities.
When president Sirleaf addressed the joint meeting of the US
Congress, she said granting Liberians continuing protective status would put
them in conditions that will allow them to contribute to their country's
reform and development. The message from that is clear. There are many
Liberians who want to return home to contribute their quota. But they are
worried about the investment they have made in the United States over the
years. They will like to go home; but be able to return to the United States
at will to visit with families, many of whom are Americans. Some of them
have gone midway into paying for their homes and automobiles, and have
established businesses that are already doing great with several American
employees. What then should be done about the plight of these people?
With the overwhelming support president Sirleaf currently
enjoys from the United States government and congress, it is hoped that
consideration will be given for thousands of Liberians to adjust status. But
that will not be an easy fight in Congress. Lawmakers who may not favor the
idea, will termed it a horrible precedent. Horrible, because the nationals
of several other countries will begin to demand similar treatment, and will
prolong the debate. When that happens, Liberians' fate will be in complete
limbo. The only other immediate but temporary solution for Liberians will be
for president George Bush to re-designate the Deferred Enforcement Departure
(DED). No one in the United States is currently a beneficiary of DED.
DED
Like TPS, DED is a temporary protection from removal which is granted to
aliens from a designated country. Unlike TPS, DED is designated by the
Office of the President of the United States of America, as a constitutional
power to conduct foreign relations. The Secretary of Homeland Security can
designate a country for TPS, but the President is the one to designate DED
for nationals of a particular country by Executive Order or Presidential
Memorandum. DED was first used in 1990 and has been used a total of five
times. Source: USCIS
While we do not yet know what will happen to the thousands of
Liberians on TPS, we do know that although, democratically free and fair
elections have been held, a new president inaugurated and heavily supported
by the US, security remains fragile in the war-torn West African nation. The
UN and US authorities understand that it will take at least two more years
for the country's law enforcement apparatus and other security institutions
to be fully re-established. "Fragile" is of course, the word everyone in the
UN and Washington is using to describe the current conditions in Liberia.
Writes, Gabriel Gworlekaju
Related article reviewing Sirleaf's
speech to Congress:
"We Must Not Betray Their Trust"
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