| “The decision to extend and redesignate TPS for Cameroon is great news as in-country conditions have only worsened since the original designation last year. Today, we thank the Biden administration as the approximately 21,000 Cameroonians residing in the U.S. are able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing they are able to continue living in safety and contributing to the U.S. economy and workforce. Deporting these individuals to a deadly armed conflict with extraordinary levels of violence would be both immoral and shortsighted.
“We hope the Administration continues to use the incredibly powerful TPS authority to offer temporary protections to other people facing disastrous circumstances in their home countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mauritania. Further, we encourage the Administration to continue offering Special Student Relief (SSR) to international students from countries designated with TPS, as this allows them to continue pursuing their educational and professional goals in the U.S. while acknowledging the emergent crises they face back home.”
Background
Established by the U.S. Congress through the Immigration Act of 1990, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is an incredibly effective legal pathway used by both Democratic and Republican administrations that provides currently undocumented immigrants in the U.S. immediate access to work authorization and deportation protections for 18 months. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the authority to designate a country for TPS where the country is facing an ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or an extraordinary and temporary condition.
Currently, in-country conditions in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Guatemala, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mali, Mauritania and Nigeria all meet the statutory requirements for a TPS designation. |