Nearly 100 immigrants whose protections are under threat or set to expire within weeks have descended on Washington to pressure lawmakers to pass legislation as soon as possible to permanently protect them and their families.
A number of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients joined members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for a press conference, while others testified before the House Judiciary Committee and urged passage of legislation. For some of these families, there’s literally no time to waste.
While the courts have protected some DACA and TPS recipients, DED families will see their protections end this very month, on March 31. It doesn’t matter if they’ve been here for 20 years (some have), because unless the Trump administration reverses course to extend DED or Congress acts, they’ll be forced to leave and face unstable conditions, or become undocumented.
“My name is Yatta Kiazolu. I’m 28 years, and I’m a beneficiary of Deferred Enforced Departure, also known as DED,” said one witness at the committee hearing. She’s a sixth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. “After 22 years in the U.S., however, 25 days from now, Liberian DED will end, and my entire life will be interrupted.”
Another witness at the hearing, Jin Park, described how his life is also in limbo. He recently made history as the first DACA recipient to win the prestigious Rhodes scholarship. Because Trump ended a provision that allowed DACA recipients to leave the U.S. for educational opportunities, Park is unsure he’ll be able to come back after studying in England.
“This means that if I leave the country to study at Oxford, I will forfeit my DACA and there will be no guarantee that I can return home to the United States,” he said. “That’s the perpetual reality of being undocumented. No matter how hard I work or what I achieve, I’ll never know if I have a place in America, my home.”
This is their home, period. Call members of Congress at (202) 224-3121 and demand legislation protecting DACA, TPS, and DED recipients now.