For Alliance of America executive director the speed with which the US made the extension of Temporary Protection Status official speaks of the goodwill of Joe Biden
As of this Friday, September 10, the U.S. Federal Register, the equivalent of the Official Gazette, notified that the 15-month extension of Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for more than 200,000 Salvadorans in this nation it is already a fact.
The rapid publication, just two days after reaching an agreement with the plaintiffs in the Ramos v. Nielsen case, surprised the Salvadorans’ own defense defenders abroad, explained Óscar Chacón, executive director of Alliance Americas. , as it speaks of the goodwill of the Joe Biden administration to support this group of compatriots.
In what spirit does the diaspora receive this extension of the TPS?
Very positively, as it should be remembered that the date stipulated in the previous agreement as the last date of validity of the authorized precedence of work permits was October 4, 2021. That is, we were very close to that date and we weren’t sure what was going to happen so soon or a final agreement to settle the lawsuit originally known as Ramos v. Nielsen and now known as Ramos v. Mayorkas.
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In that sense, the news was very encouraging. This is a temporary agreement for the negotiation to settle the fundamental basis of the lawsuit filed which is still in force. It is positive that in recognition of the proximity of October 4, this agreement has been reached with the Biden administration.
Even more admirable is that they have published the official note so quickly in the official newspaper of the United States, because a complaint we have had from the Biden-Harris administration is that they have not adequately published warnings of this nature in similar cases. of the last seven months, so I’m very glad that the news was published quickly and people can be calmer with this automatic extension which by the way indicates that nothing needs to be done, your permission as it is automatically valid until December 31, 2022.
Is it positive that DHS has notified the Federal Register so quickly?
Of course, even though the agreement is like an agreement signed between the plaintiff’s attorneys and attorneys representing the Biden-Harris administration and Secretary Mayorkas in particular, nothing is official in the United States until it appears. published in the Federal Register.
It is very important that this news comes with the approval that appears published with the date of this Friday 10 September.
Does it facilitate work permits?
Absolutely. A Salvadoran who may have a permit that expired in 2017, 2018, 2019 or 2021, because when a Salvadoran lost his work permit and was forced to apply for a new one that involves paying, that permit showed the date of October 4, 2021.
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Each permission has a different category. With the note published today in the federal register they are automatically extended. The way to check that you still have authorization is to show your permission and a copy of the publication of the Official Gazette (Federal Register).
Who needs to renew their permit?
The truth is that anyone who already wants to apply for a permit with a future expiration date, i.e. December 31, 2022 or a person who lost their permit and needs to have it to verify that their presence in the States United is authorized had to do it, but most do not lose these things.
If I have a work permit but it says it expired in 2018 and I want to avoid being asked questions, well, I pay and get a new permit. But you do need to pay or prove that you are a low-income person and ask for a payment exemption.
Expectations to win the demand?
It’s uncertain, I can’t say for how long not even the legal team representing the case. This depends on multiple factors. What can be said is that the will of the Biden administration is positive. They have already given up on continuing to litigate the case and the agreement that is sought to be reached is one that guarantees the maximum possible protection time. They are going to do this two periods more than 18 months, a period more than 18 months after December 31, 2022 … we do not know..because we must also remember that there is an effort that has been driven and Alliance Americas is one of the leading organizations in this effort, to get Congress to reform the law.
Which cannot be done by the administration from the executive branch, nor can a legal lawsuit change the law. What we are looking for is for the law to be changed so that people who have been beneficiaries of TPS for many years can, due to their membership in the TPS program, apply for permanent residence, which would imply a change in the individual’s migratory situation. and this is only possible if the law is changed.
I’m going to put on a stage. One thing we are pushing is that as part of the process of deliberating on the budget resolution for the United States they are going to try to approve Democrats without Republican support through this process called reconciliation. What we are asking for is for this budget framework to include clauses that help people like TPS beneficiaries to apply for permanent residency.
We have a good chance of getting a victory in this plan but we are not sure. But let’s assume an extremely optimistic scenario: that we get it. This could happen as early as October or early November of this year. This means that the eventual agreement that the lawyers may reach could be affected by a change of this nature because I insist the lawsuit Ramos vs Mayorkas the only thing he alleged is the way the Trump administration put an end to the TPS.
What he seeks to repair is the injustice that stems from a wrongly made decision.
Then the hope of the diaspora is put not so much in demand as this gains time for a solution in Congress …
Absolutely, this is the correct interpretation because I want to insist that the lawsuit the only thing it seeks to retract is the act of cancellation of the TPS, nothing more, because changing the migratory status of people with TPS is beyond the limits of a demand of this nature.
Does this positive option refer to Biden’s option to legalize immigrants?
No. It is important to be clear. Salvadorans in the US without papers there will be about 500 thousand people without any kind of permission. For these people, nothing that is immediately in the realm of possibilities solved their problems.
What is on the table is a change in the law that would allow people who got TPS more than 10 years ago and this would qualify those who currently have TPS so they can apply for permanent residency.
There is a bill known as the Promises tabled by Democratic lawmakers in the lower house but which has never been considered in the Senate that contains this legislative language: it would cover people of different nationalities but mostly Salvadorans.
What President Biden announced during his campaign is a proposal introduced in the Senate by Senator Bob Menéndez and the egalitarian proposal presented in the House of Representatives by Representative Linda Sanchez of California.
This proposal is much more ambitious that would seek to eventually give permanent residence to all people who entered illegally before January 1, 2021. But this is not actively under consideration. The proposal was presented, he did not say I will approve it because it is not his prerogative to approve it, who decides is Congress.
Unfortunately Congress is not at present a body where the Democratic party has comfortable advantages in both chambers. This makes it difficult to consider the proposal presented by this Senator and the Representative.
Is there a positive spirit of power with this automatic extension of the TPS that there is good news next year?
We have been fighting for a solution that allows for permanent residence. It is a very old struggle, it has as its point of origin the summer of 1992, because it was a demand that arose when the first group of Salvadorans who obtained work permits through the TPS law that had been approved on 1990 was approaching the end of their protection period and we had no guarantee of what was going to happen next. At that time the demand for permanent residence was formulated for people with TPS. It’s been an uphill battle, all along