Demonstrating once again what a sham Temporary Protected Status is, Senators want Obama to extend temporary refugee status to Liberians who have been here “temporarily” since the late 1980’s! Seems to me that the civil war in Liberia is over and this “LEGAL” status for those here originally illegally should just end.
There must be one hell-uv-a lot of Liberians in Rhode Island because I saw Senator Jack Reed spearheading this same effort several years ago. Here he is joined by the usual Senate Open Borders gang.
Check out here what other countries enjoy this “temporary” protection. Liberia is in the Deferred Enforced Departure category. Reed’s press release and letter to the White House on Friday are here.
From Political News:
WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to preserve the status of Liberians living legally in the United States, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) led a letter signed by fourteen of his colleagues to President Obama urging an extension of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). The current DED extension is set to expire on September 30, 2014, which could cause Liberians living here legally on temporary status to be deported.
The usual suspects, but where is his pal Elizabeth Warren? Come to think of it, why isn’t Warren here?
Senators joining Reed in sending the letter include: Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Al Franken (D-MN), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
[….]
Since 1991, Liberians have relied on short-term provisions of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or DED from Presidents of both political parties to extend their legal right to remain in the United States. These individuals, many of whom have been in the United States since fleeing Liberia in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, have retained a legal status that allows them to live, work, and pay taxes in the United States.
Reed and the Liberians were expecting that “comprehensive immigration reform” would resolve their problem with its blanket amnesty.
The senators wrote: “the current system of short-term DED renewals leaves Liberians and their families with perennial uncertainty about whether they will be able to remain members of the communities they have come to call home. For this reason, while we urge you to grant a lengthy extension of at least two years and to make this announcement well in advance of the current DED expiration, we continue to call for comprehensive immigration reform that includes an adjustment to permanent resident status for qualifying Liberians and their families.”
The next time you hear one of your friends say: “Legal immigration is o.k., it is illegal that I object to” remember TPS and pop them one (gently!). Yes, it is legal (forever). Once granted a temporary stay in America, they never go home. Check out that list again—it includes Syrians now.