04 MAR 2022

Hub Highlights: President Biden Grants TPS to Ukraine While Republicans Disgrace America with Attacks Against Children

WASHINGTON, DC - Yesterday, the Biden administration announced it will designate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Ukraine nationals currently in the country. According to the Department of Homeland Security, approximately 75,000 non-U.S. citizen Ukrainians could be eligible for TPS status.

“No one in America should have to be removed or live under the threat of deportation to a country in war or violent conflict,” stated Sergio Gonzales, Executive Director of the Immigration Hub. “We stand with the American public in welcoming and applauding President Biden’s decision to provide protections to Ukrainians in our communities. It’s this act of humanitarianism by past and current administrations that Americans have always supported because it reflects the best of who we are and what our leadership means to the world. No matter our political affiliation, Americans have always understood the plight of those who flee persecution, disasters or dangerous conditions. It’s all the more reason that President Biden should fully exercise what Congress intended with this tool and issue TPS for Cameroon to save the lives of Cameroonians in America who risk being sent back to a country beset in active armed conflict. The U.S. Department of State has held up the decision on TPS for Cameroon for too long. It’s time to get past the hesitation and act on our commitment to humanitarianism the same way we have with Ukraine nationals in America.”

The Biden administration this week also issued TPS for Sudan and South Sudan, providing necessary protections for hundreds of nationals from these countries who are currently in America. The Immigration Hub has also called on the administration to designate or extend TPS for Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Mali, and Mauritania. In the absence of legislation, the administrative action would provide temporary relief to many families and workers who have been critical to America’s economic recovery and integral to local communities.

Republicans Cement Their Hate Against Children and Families

Meanwhile, Republicans have continued to spread immigration misinformation via ads and online platforms and, yesterday, Senate Republican legislators in Florida passed Governor DeSantis’s bill that would codify the governor’s attacks against unaccompanied children by attempting to block children and other immigrants from being brought, processed and reunified with their families in Florida.

Additionally, the Florida bill (SB1808/ HB1355) would try to resurrect a 2019 anti-sanctuary law that was found unconstitutional by a US District judge who deemed it to be racially motivated, while also aiming to force law enforcement to enter into an agreement with a DHS agency and waste taxpayer dollars to do the job already done by federal immigration agents. The proposal is a shameless political prop for DeSantis and Florida Republicans to undermine President Biden’s family reunification efforts, largely supported by the American public, and Florida’s long history of helping immigrant children find a home and their families.

“Republicans legislators last night sent a message to all Florida residents that they are willing to put the political ambitions of an overzealous governor over the safety of children,” stated Beatriz Lopez, Chief Political and Communications Officer for the Immigration Hub. “This bill isn’t about public safety. It’s about Governor DeSantis using both executive authority and legislation to block President Biden and Florida businesses and charitable groups’ efforts from reuniting children with their families, and simply because he’s got his eyes on 2024. The Florida I know welcomed my parents and sister when they fled Nicaragua’s civil war after having already provided a safe haven for the Cuban children who were sent to the state by terrified parents facing persecution and conflict. Republicans in Florida have cemented their hate against children and the state’s proud immigrant history. Meanwhile, Senator Marco Rubio, once the posterboy for bipartisanship on immigration, has simply stood on the sidelines without any condemnation but rather in support of his party’s flagrant actions and rhetoric.”

In response to Governor DeSantis and the Florida GOP’s action, the Florida Immigrant Coalition Votes has launched a new Spanish-language ads. “Florida’s pay-to-play governor is prioritizing his political aspirations and wealthy donors over the well-being of Florida’s children by supporting anti-children policies and defunding public education,” Isabel Vinent, co-director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, told POLITICO.

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