Latino Democratic Senators are pushing Joe Biden to bestow Temporary Protective Status (TPS) upon undocumented constituents in their states ahead of Donald Trump’s sweeping plan to execute mass deportations of Illegals.
Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Alex Padilla of California, and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico are pressing the Biden administration to redesignate TPS for nationals from Nicaragua and El Salvador and to also designate TPS for people from Ecuador.
TPS for El Salvador ends in March, and TPS for Nicaragua ends in July after Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
“We know the incoming administration is going to try to implement chaotic immigration policies that tear our families apart,” Cortez Masto said.
The members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus also stressed that the White House should direct the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s immigration agency to speed up renewal applications for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.
“It’s time for this administration to ensure that we can renew their DACA status now before they come under threat from the Trump administration,” Cortez Masto said.
The White House has yet to comment or react to the Latino Senators’ requests.
The senators stressed that the Biden administration should take action, given Trump’s vow to enact mass deportations, targeting the millions of immigrants without legal status. Deportations could easily include those with TPS if their status is not renewed.
TPS designations can last six, 12, or 18 months before they are renewed and cover more than 1 million immigrants. The status does not offer a pathway to citizenship.
So far, 17 countries have TPS designation, and it’s been used in instances like Ukrainians fleeing from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
DACA Fate Still Unknown
Trump, who tried to end DACA during his first administration, said during a sit-down interview with NBC on Sunday that he would “work with the Democrats on a plan” to keep those recipients in the U.S., but he did not elaborate on any details.
The program is currently waiting for a federal court to decide its legal fate.
Cortez Masto said she is always willing to work to protect Dreamers but is skeptical about Trump’s comments.
“The last time he said that, and we brought him a bipartisan bill to do something to protect our Dreamers, he killed it,” she said.