Campaign Action
Linda Clark hopes her invitation to the State of the Union as a guest of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar raises awareness about the end of protections that could result in her deportation after nearly two decades in the U.S.
Last year, the Trump administration announced it would end Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)—a program that has has allowed Clark and at least 1,000 others to live here following a devastating civil war that killed hundreds of thousands in Liberia—by March 31, 2019, saying that conditions there had improved.
But some Liberians have lived here for as long as 25 years, and have built families and homes here. They, like Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients also under attack by the administration’s racist actions, risk getting sent back to a country they no longer recognize or consider home.
Clark and other DED recipients now hope for an extension while the new Congress works on passing permanent legislation. The Democratic House will prioritize protections for DACA and TPS recipients, but Clark and others under threat must also be protected. “Because of DED,” she said, “I have been able to build a life for myself in the country I now call home.”
“Linda is exactly the type of American success story we should celebrate,” Rep. Omar said in the statement announcing that Clark would be her guest to Donald Trump’s address. “Someone who came to this country seeking a better life, played by the rules, and built a life for herself.”
Minnesota is home to many Liberian immigrants, making protecting DED recipients and their families an American issue. “I think the unknown is the worst,” Brooklyn Park Mayor Jeffrey Lunde said. “Their kids are American citizens. They live and were born here. They've gone to schools here. They own homes here.”