Thread: Faith leaders to Trump: Don’t make TPS the next DACA

Faith leaders to Trump: Don’t make TPS the next DACA

Bob Allen | October 19, 2017

El Salvador is one of 10 countries that currently qualify for TPS status due to conditions that prevent their nationals from returning safely or where the country is unable to adequately handle their repatriation. The other nine are Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

With President Trump’s recent decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) and repeated attempts by the White House to ban travelers from Muslim-majority countries, hundreds of thousands of individuals from TPS countries now wonder if they will be the next class of immigrants affected by the current administration’s agenda to tighten control of America’s borders.

Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone recently rotated off the list, after Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson determined the three countries have recovered sufficiently from the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic to safely repatriate their citizens.

Former Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, now White House chief of staff, granted Haiti a six-month extension in May, rather than the usual 18 months, and advised Haitian President Jovenel Moïse to prepare to absorb Haitians living in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status since the devastating Haiti earthquake of 2010.

Homeland Security officials recently decided not to renew TPS designation for Sudan, allowing it to expire Nov. 2 and giving Sudanese nationals another 12 months to acquire another legal status or get out of the country.

TPS designations for Honduras and El Salvador expire early next year, and immigration officials say they are reviewing conditions to determine whether to grant a renewal.

Maria Swearingen

Lopez’ pastor, Maria Swearingen, said she wants the president to save TPS not only for economic reasons but also because what ending the program would mean for Calvary Baptist Church, which worships both in English and Spanish.

“At the church I pastor, this is personal,” Swearingen said. “I am talking about members of my congregation, families I have prayed with, cried with, laughed with, struggled with and lived with. I’m talking about what it would mean for our church to suddenly lose faithful members to the whims of people in power who either refuse to or cannot see how a decision like these affects real human lives.”

“In my church, we believe that you can test the moral conscience of a nation by how well that nation treats the stranger and the immigrant,” Swearingen said. “In my church, we understand that when people in positions of power make decisions void of compassion or conscience, it’s time to speak out and to speak clearly.”

Lopez said she continues to work hard to save money not only for her dream home, but also for the several hundred dollars she must pay every 18 months to renew her TPS status.

“Nothing has been free for me,” she said. “I have been working hard for myself and my family. I pay my taxes just like every American does. Now I am a homeowner with a good job, speaking the language and praying for immigration reform.”

“Sixteen years have passed, and now I see myself and thousands more people living in the unexpected, like in a bad dream, not knowing what will happen to us, to our dreams and our families,” Lopez said. “Today, I’m here to beg this administration to be just and humane. I want to implore President Trump to approve the extension for the Temporary Protected Status, not only for Salvadorans but for the 10 countries. Mr. President, you can do it. Please do it.”

https://baptistnews.com/article/fait.../#.Wet0vXYpDIU

Lopez said she continues to work hard to save money not only for her dream home, but also for the several hundred dollars she must pay every 18 months to renew her TPS status.

“Nothing has been free for me,” she said. “I have been working hard for myself and my family. I pay my taxes just like every American does. Now I am a homeowner with a good job, speaking the language and praying for immigration reform.”

“Sixteen years have passed, and now I see myself and thousands more people living in the unexpected, like in a bad dream, not knowing what will happen to us, to our dreams and our families,” Lopez said. “Today, I’m here to beg this administration to be just and humane. I want to implore President Trump to approve the extension for the Temporary Protected Status, not only for Salvadorans but for the 10 countries. Mr. President, you can do it. Please do it.”

It's time for you and all your congregation from El Salvador and the 9 other countries to return home to your own country. If you can afford a home here, then you can already afford your dream house in El Salvador.

Time for all of you to return to your homelands.

Time for you to thank the American People for the refuge extended you during your time of need 16 years ago.

Time for you to bless our people and wish US well.

Time for you to go home and express your voice, prayers and political viewpoints in your own countries.

Amen Judy. I am so tired of all these sob stories. Why can't these people go back to their own countries and fight for their "rights?" We have a culture, and we are tired of it being watered down by all these other cultures. I know, next they will say,"We are a nation of immigrants, blah, blah, blah. There are far too many Hispanics here. To us it feels like an invasion. When will the world realize we cannot let everyone who wants to come here come here.

You're so right!! The massive amount of immigration from Hispanic countries is so far over the top, there's just no explanation for it except illegal immigration. Most Hispanic legal immigration is very limited for some reason, so like the crooks they all are, they've turned a blind-eye and even encouraged this migration through cartel-controlled illegal immigration, the worst possible type of immigration into the United States.

SO SAD!!!

NO MORE TPS! THEY NEVER WANT TO LEAVE.

AND WHY DID SHE BUY A HOME!!!

YOU ARE HERE "TEMPORARY"...BOOT THEM OUT...NO PATH TO STAY!

GO BEG YOUR PRESIDENT TO BE HUMANE TO YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE...SELL OUT, PACK UP AND GET OUT.

HOMES GO ON THE MARKET EVERY DAY...SELL IT! TAKE YOUR MONEY AND GO DREAM ON YOUR SOIL.

AMERICAN'S SELL HOMES, MOVE TO OTHER STATES ALL THE TIME AND TAKE THEIR FAMILIES WITH THEM!

YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL.

THOUSANDS OF HOMES WILL OPEN UP FOR AMERICAN'S!