Biden Breaks Promise of Temporary Protected Status For Migrants

The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering a case that could solidify the position that persons with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) would not be forced to leave the U.S. during the process of applying for a green card when petitioned for by family members or employers.

Disappointingly, the Biden administration (who was recently called out by congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez on the child migrant facilities…before she backtracked) has decided to take the same position as the Trump administration, which would deny TPS recipients safer access to permanent residency without the risk of family separation. This action contradicts President Biden’s statements declaring support for immigrant communities, as well as the promises he made to the immigrant community during his campaign.

Some Latino immigrant advocacy groups are putting partisan allegiances aside and calling out the current administration’s continuous hypocrisies and repeated positions that take for granted the Latinx voter base and the promises made to them.

“Several federal courts found that people who were granted TPS should be considered ‘inspected and admitted or paroled’ for the purposes of their eligibility for a green card, while some courts found they were not. The Biden administration should have sided with immigrant communities in taking a clear position that TPS holders should be allowed to apply for a green card while in the U.S., in recognition of their strong family ties, long term presence, contributions to American society, and of the unsafe situations facing them if forced to return to their countries of origin. Additionally, the administration could have taken proactive steps to protect TPS holders and their families by issuing a policy memo clarifying their position, and instructing USCIS to adjudicate cases in accordance with their interpretation,” said Oscar Chacón, executive director of Alianza Americas.