Migrants with temporary legal status ask Biden for help before Trump takes office

Construction worker, gardener, waiter, painter, real estate agent: these are the jobs Mardoel Hernández holds as a Honduran immigrant living in the United States for more than 20 years. Hernandez, a teacher who fled his home country in the 1990s, was granted legal status and a work permit through the Temporary Protected Status program.

The program, created by Congress and signed into law by President George HW Bush, allows immigrants to temporarily stay in the United States if they come from countries designated as dangerous. TPS allows migrants to apply for work permits and protects them from deportation, but does not provide a path to citizenship.

Today, Hernandez is joining other TPS holders across the country in a hunger strike to pressure Mr. Biden to extend protected status for immigrants at risk of deportation, since the President-elect Donald Trump has promised to revoke the program upon taking office.

“We ask President Biden to leave a strong legacy for the immigrant community and honor his word,” Hernandez told CBS News. “He promised us so much.”

As part of the hunger strike organized by the National TPS Alliance, immigrants say that until Mr. Biden responds, they will abstain from food as a sign of sympathy for the deprivation experienced in their country. 'origin.

“In 2017, I started packing my bags when Trump canceled TPS for Hondurans.” Hernandez said. “My only option now is to rally together and hope Biden notices and takes action.”

During an October interview with NewsNation, Trump was asked about Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, and whether he would revoke TPS.

“Absolutely, I would revoke it and bring them back to their country,” he replied. This followed Trump's debunked claims on the campaign trail that Haitian immigrants living in Springfield were killing and eating local residents' pets.

“President Trump will use all federal powers and coordinate with state authorities to carry out the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug traffickers and human traffickers in the American history while simultaneously reducing costs for families,” Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump transition, told CBS News. in a statement, when asked what Trump planned to do with TPS holders and whether such immigrants would be part of his overall deportation plans.

“The American people re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming majority, giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, like deporting migrant criminals and restoring our economic greatness. will keep its promises.” » said Leavitt. But she did not discuss what the Trump administration plans to do with migrants granted temporary legal status in the United States.

According to the latest data, there were more than 850,000 TPS holders as of March 2024. Around 350,000 Venezuelans, 200,000 Haitians, and 180,000 Salvadorans make up the largest group of beneficiaries.

About 300,000 TPS holders reside in Florida, while Texas has nearly 95,000 and New York and California each have about 68,000.

TPS holders receive renewable relief for up to six, 12 or 18 months, but without an extension, many will begin to lose their legal status in 2025. Protections for Salvadorans are set to expire for the first time in March, and those Venezuela, Ukraine and Sudan in April. , and Nicaragua in July.

“It is very important that anyone in temporary protected status sit down with an attorney to evaluate all possible avenues to obtain permanent status, or to change status, and understand,” said Haim Vasquez, a Dallas immigration lawyer. Texas. “If there is anything that can be done, they need to do it as soon as possible.”

Since Trump won the election, Vasquez says he has been fielding questions at the Salvadoran consulate in Dallas from TPS holders who will be among the first to see their status expire in March.

Extensions, called designations, for TPS are announced two months before the expiration date, Vasquez said. In this case, Biden is expected to issue a new designation to the Salvadorans by January 9.

As for how long immigrants would have in the country before being deported if Trump follows through on his promises and revokes TPS, Vasquez says it depends on how Trump ends the program. He could let the status run until the expiration dates previously set; any revocation will certainly result in legal action.

“We one hundred percent expect legal challenges,” Vasquez said.

During his first administration, Trump attempted to end TPS for beneficiaries in six countries, including Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan. Trump's attempts, however, were immediately met with legal challenges and a judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the TPS terminations.

As critical deadlines approach on Dec. 9, a group of senators sent a letter to Mr. Biden urging him to protect long-established immigrants before Trump's inauguration by taking key steps.

Senators Dick Durbin, Cory Booker, Catherine Cortez Masto, Tammy Duckworth, Mazie Hirono, Ben Ray Luján, and Alex Padilla called on the President to redesignate and expand TPS to all eligible countries. The senators stressed that “worsening crises across the world,” including in Ukraine and Nicaragua, underscore the need to maintain protected status.

Currently, the United States has conferred this status on nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, Nepal, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Venezuela, from Burma, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Ukraine.

Salvadoran TPS incumbent Soledad Miranda also joined the hunger strike in Washington, DC, urging Mr. Biden to grant an extension before leaving office. She fears deportation and separation from her American-born daughter.

“Biden is leaving the White House and we want him to do what he hasn’t done in four years.”

More from Nidia Cavazos

Nidia Cavazos is a 2024 campaign reporter for CBS News.

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