Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) issued the following statement following the Biden administration’s decision to provide an 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal:
“I am glad the Biden administration has reversed the Trump administration’s cruel and misguided decision to rescind TPS designations for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal. However, this decision simply does not go far enough. While today’s announcement allows hundreds of thousands of TPS holders and their families to breathe a sigh of relief, I am disappointed the administration did not heed my call to re-designate these countries for TPS, and also excluded Venezuela and Guatemala from this action. Re-designating these countries for TPS would have provided additional, deserving families with much needed protections that are on solid legal ground and would have been more than justified by the on-the-ground realities in these specific countries. So it concerns me that this decision may have been driven in part by political calculations instead of sound policy rationale and the conditions in each country.
“Expanding and strengthening the TPS program is not just a humanitarian act. TPS holders contribute billions of dollars to the American economy each year and help mitigate the root causes of irregular migration to the United States by providing financial support to their families back home. Going forward, I urge the Biden administration to more aggressively leverage its executive authority on TPS to help address some of the long-standing challenges of our immigration system, and to work with me to implement the Menendez Plan. For my part, rest assured I will never stop fighting for TPS holders and their families.”
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