13 FEB 2023

Immigration Hub Urges the Biden Administration to Redesignate and Extend Temporary Protected Status for Nicaragua 

 272 religious, immigration, and human rights organizations recently released a letter articulating the need to shield thousands of Nicaraguans fleeing worsening political repression and instability in their home country.

WASHINGTON DC -  The increasingly totalitarian nature of the Ortega-Murillo regime and the brutal political repression Nicaraguans face in their daily lives exacerbates the need for the Biden administration to urgently redesignate Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for the country. Just last week, 222 Nicaraguan political prisoners were sent to the U.S. in one of the largest releases of this kind in our country’s history. They have been stripped of Nicaraguan citizenship by the Ortega-Murillo regime and, while they have been granted humanitarian parole to remain in the U.S. for a period of two years, their futures remain uncertain. Illustrating the deterioration of human rights in Nicaragua, Pope Francis has expressed worry about the sentencing of Bishop Rolando Alvarez to 26 years in jail in the latest move against the Catholic Church and government opponents. Additionally, the structural and economic impacts of Category 4 Hurricanes Eta and Iota, have displaced thousands and made conditions untenable.  

The following is a statement issued by Beatriz Lopez, Chief Political and Communications Officer of the Immigration Hub:

“As a daughter of Nicaraguan immigrants who fled the communist regime of Daniel Ortega in the 1980s, countless families like my own are no stranger to the cruelty behind such authoritarianism. Today, Nicaragua not only faces the dangers of Ortega, again, but the detrimental consequences of natural disasters. There is no safe return for Nicaraguan nationals currently in the United States — the Biden administration must take decisive and compassionate action to use TPS as it was intended and redesignate the program for Nicaragua.

“The last time TPS was designated to Nicaragua it was to mitigate the catastrophe caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Since 2018, escalating political repression by the Ortega-Murillo regime, devastation caused by wildfires that have destroyed 5,000 hectares of forest, and damage caused by Hurricanes Eta and Iota have created an untenable situation for Nicaraguans that have been forced to flee the country to ensure their wellbeing and safety. The Biden administration must extend and redesignate TPS so that almost 50,000 Nicaraguans in the U.S.  can thrive and live without the fear of being deported to the deteriorating social, political, and human rights crises under the Ortega-Murillo regime.”

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigrationpolicies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.