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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Nov. 6 it\u2019s intention to terminate Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for Nicaraguans, many of whom have lived in the United States for nearly two decades.<\/p>\n
The TPS program\u2014which offers temporary residency to more than 300,000 foreign nationals from 13 countries who have fled violence and natural disasters\u2014was extended to Nicaragua on Jan. 5, 1999. In her Nov. 5 announcement, acting secretary Elaine Duke said Nicaraguans\u2019 TPS would last through Jan. 5, 2019 \u201cto allow for an orderly transition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lariza Dugan-Cuadra, executive director of San Francisco\u2019s Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), has interpreted Duke\u2019s message for the 2,550 Nicaraguan \u201cTPSianos\u201d to mean: \u201cprepare to leave the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is in line and consistent with the Trump administration\u2019s anti-immigrant, xenophobic and racist agenda,\u201d said Dugan-Cuadra, who was disappointed but not surprised by the announcement. \u201cEverything that\u2019s coming out of the federal government currently is a shadow or reflection of his leadership, and of course it hurts us. It\u2019s painful to think that somebody can just overnight decide that people who have been here 20 years or more, who have homes, children, businesses, who have built their lives\u2026 Many of them have lived in this country longer than anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Giselle Bustamante is one such person. She left her native Nicaragua about 18 years ago to help her sister in the Bay Area, who had suffered profound losses in an accidental fire. With no family around, Bustamante, then 26, came to her sister\u2019s aid, offering all of the support she could.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer recovery was a very long one. So that kept me here,\u201d Bustamante said. \u201cThen I benefited for TPS.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today Bustamante is a mother of three, who went to school to learn English and was on the verge of starting her own industrial cleaning service business. She currently attends Berkeley City College in hopes of obtaining a degree. For 18 years she has undergone regular screenings (sometimes every year, sometimes every 18 months), which is a requirement for all TPS beneficiaries. But her future in this country is now uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a really unjust decision because all the time we\u2019ve been here, we\u2019ve demonstrated that we\u2019re good citizens, we\u2019ve completely integrated into this society,\u201d Bustamante said. \u201cOur lives are grounded here. We have families, businesses, houses, and from one moment to the next, it feels like we\u2019re being exiled. We\u2019ve continued to live a productive life here, we\u2019ve brought our values and work ethic to this country. We\u2019ve given more to this country than to our own countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
The other TPS communities<\/b><\/p>\n
Nicaragua\u2019s loss of TPS status has left other beneficiaries, such as Hondurans, Salvadorans and Haitians, shaken. In her Nov. 6 announcement, Duke made no mention of Honduras (the second largest TPS population at 57,000) whose TPS expiration date is set for July 5, 2018. But the announcement said that \u201cgiven the information currently available to the Acting Secretary, it is possible that the TPS designation for Honduras will be terminated at the end of the six-month automatic extension with an appropriate delay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weeks before the announcement was made, dozens of Central American and Haitian community members gathered at San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 20, urging that TPS be renewed. Some of those in attendance travelled to Washington, D.C. a day later to lobby Congress to defend TPS.<\/p>\n
Vanessa Velasco and her husband Enrique, like many people fleeing Central America, left El Salvador in 2001 to escape violence and the lack of overall opportunities. TPS beneficiaries since March 2001, they have three children who are U.S. Citizens. Their oldest daughter is on the verge of attending college, but their future as a family in this country is uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been working, contributing to this society and for us it [TPS] is important,\u201d Vanessa said. \u201cOur future as a family depends on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Future for TPS beneficiaries <\/b><\/p>\n
On Nov. 3, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) introduced H.R. 4253, the \u201cAmerican Promise Act,\u201d which would provide certain protections for TPS beneficiaries. CARECEN is throwing its full support behind the bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel that one person is too many, let alone targeting a group of individuals,\u201d Dugan-Cuadra said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what\u2019s happening right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the wake of the DHS decision, groups and organizations like CARECEN have been focused on making sure their community understands what this decision means in simple language, and that they need to remain strong and not succumb to fear. The termination of TPS is not equivalent to receiving a deportation order.<\/p>\n
They are also urging TPSianos from all 13 countries, former DACA recipients and all 11 million undocumented people to seek legal counsel through trusted community organizations and licensed and certified attorneys, and to not fall prey to unqualified \u201cnotarios\u201d or be deterred by filing fees.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that there are a lot of existing programs that people can benefit from to adjust their status,\u201d Dugan-Cuadra said. \u201cBut we will not know \u2026 [what they are eligible for] unless people come out and get screened.\u201d<\/p>\n
CARECEN (located at 3101 Mission St Suite #101) continues to keep its doors open Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. It is urging people to call 415-642-4400, or drop in.<\/p>\n
CARECEN also participated in a TPS workshop on Nov. 12, which Bustamante attended.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to tell our community that we cannot let this decision turn us negative and that we continue with our plans\u2026a lot of our people don\u2019t have anything to return to our countries,\u201d she said. \u201cOur countries remain poor. There aren\u2019t any jobs there waiting for us, and places to live. It would be a major setback for us. We have to remain here, to continue to live right, and to have confidence in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[su_carousel source=”media: 36229,36227,36230″ limit=”65″ link=”lightbox” target=”blank” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″][su_carousel limit=”65″ link=”lightbox” target=”blank” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″] [\/su_carousel] The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Nov. 6 it\u2019s intention to terminate Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for Nicaraguans, many of whom have lived in the United States for nearly two decades. The TPS program\u2014which offers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":36229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3929],"tags":[11851,5957,12751,5577,4715,15314,15320,5579,4229,12863,4723,15324,15316,15310,15312,15318,15322],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-36225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","tag-carecen-en","tag-department-of-homeland-security-en","tag-dhs-en","tag-donald-trump-en","tag-el-salvador-en","tag-elaine-duke","tag-giselle-bustamante","tag-haiti-en","tag-honduras-en","tag-lariza-dugan-cuadra","tag-nicaragua-en","tag-rep-nydia-velazquez","tag-san-franciscos-central-american-resource-center","tag-temporary-protective-status","tag-tps","tag-tpsianos","tag-vanessa-velasco","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n