Tag: Temporary Protected Status

Trudeau’s ticking time bomb: Trump immigration policy

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

“Canada is presented as the best way out of this complicated situation”

Abdullah Kiatamba, executive director of African Immigrant Services (MN)

 

This story is more along the lines of what we reported here two days ago.

I was delighted to learn that the Trump Administration is seriously considering letting Temporary Protected Status lapse for countries other than Haiti.

Readers should know that TPS is a farce.

Once granted, the US simply continues to extend it and extend it—Salvadorans, for example, have had the right to live and work here for decades as TPS would be renewed every couple of years (no matter who was in the White House!).

But, things have changed and those “temporary” legal (and some illegal) migrants are now eyeing Canada! 

And there, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made ‘welcoming the stranger’ a primary hallmark of his leadership.

So, here they come!

From the Winnepeg Free Press (emphasis is mine):

Trudeau Liberal
The Libs are worried! The 2019 federal election will be here before you know it! Trudeau said Canada loves diversity so come on up! And, thousands are taking his word for it.

OTTAWA — Manitoba could face hundreds more African asylum seekers crossing from the United States as that country winds down a temporary-stay program. It’s unclear whether Ottawa is doing anything to stem the flow.

“Canada is presented as the best way out of this complicated situation,” Abdullah Kiatamba, executive director of African Immigrant Services — a Minnesota-based non-profit organization — said.

Since 1990, the U.S. has granted temporary protected status (TPS) to citizens of countries people can’t return to due to war, pandemic or natural disasters. In recent years, the U.S. has offered citizens of 13 countries short-term work permits and shielded them — unless they have criminal convictions — from deportation due to problems in their home countries.

But the U.S. seems to be winding that program down.

Meanwhile, thousands of people are crossing irregularly into Canada. They avoid border stations that can send them back to the U.S. and instead wander into Canada through fields — something that would be normally be illegal, but is allowed under international law for people claiming asylum.

[….]

“A good number of people have said that Canada is one option, perhaps the best option,” Kiatamba said, adding he knows about 10 people who have crossed into Manitoba.

[….]

Earlier this week, Reuters news service reported unnamed government sources said the Liberals are worried about an onslaught of Central Americans claiming asylum next fall if the U.S. drops them off the TPS list.

The report did not say which provinces the government would expect people to enter and claim asylum.

It claimed Ottawa is particularly worried about an uptick in arrivals a year before the 2019 federal election.

I bet it is! Hey, we could call it Trump’s revenge!

Continue reading here.  There is a good discussion about various temporary ‘refugees’ from TPS-designated countries and when we (the US) might cut them loose.

See my Canada category here.

I’ve written about TPS over the years, go here to learn more.  One time when George W. Bush extended TPS for Salvadorans I found an article about why he did that—it was about remittances and how Salvadorans in the US send money “home” and thus prop up the economy there with dollars lost to the US economy.

Haitians (fearing Trump) heading to Canada found in possession of child porn

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Hey, Justin! You are welcome to them!

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been saying, even before Trump was actually elected, that Canada would take ‘refugees’ the US didn’t want.  So gosh, what did those darn refugee rejects (the Somalis and now the Haitians) do?  They took his word for it and are heading en masse to the land of maple syrup.

From Canada24News (hat tip: Joanne):

Multiple refugee claimants have been found in possession of child pornography at or near the Quebec border crossing where an influx of hundreds of asylum seekers crossing from New York state has led the Canadian government to set up a border camp, Global News has learned.

The reference is to the expiring ‘Temporary Protected Status’ for Haitians who were allowed to stay in the US TEMPORARILY after the Earthquake there in 2010. They are not legitimate refugees escaping persecution.  Go here to see the video of the Haitians arriving in Canada. https://eblnews.com/video/canada-haitian-asylum-seekers-arrive-canada-us-180842

 

In a memorandum to officers of the Canadian Border Services Agency this week, acting CBSA assistant director Daniel St-Arnaud outlines a set of guidelines for officers at and near the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle crossing to deal with the illicit material. The guidelines will “come into effect immediately” and remain until national guidelines are put in place.

According to a source, officials in St-Bernard-de-Lacolle have in recent months found “four or five” refugee claimants from Haiti in possession of child pornography, which prompted the memorandum.

A spokesperson for Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Ralph Goodale confirmed two cases have resulted in criminal proceedings. “We can confirm that, following an investigation, two people have been charged by the Quebec Direction des Poursuites Criminelles et Pénales with possession and importation of child pornography,” said Dan Brien. “The matter remains under adjudication.”

[….]

Last week, the Canadian government deployed soldiers to set up tents near St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, which sits across the border from Champlain, New York, in order to temporarily house hundreds of asylum seekers, most of which are Haitians who fear deportation by the United States government. The city of Montreal, which is 60 kilometres from the border point, last week said it is receiving between 250 and 300 asylum claimants who crossed the Canada-U.S. border every day — the number is up from 50 per day in the first half of July.

[….]

Birds of a feather? Canadian immigration critic: Trudeau has been “irresponsible in his language.”

Rempel [Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel], said the border arrests comprised one part of broader concerns that the opposition has about the government’s management of Canada’s refugee system. Earlier this month, Global News reported on a CBSA document which suggested that Somalis with criminal records, deported by the U.S., have crossed illegally into Canada and made refugee claims under false identities.

“This is a troubling pattern where we’re seeing people with criminal records or involved in criminal activity come across the border,” added Rempel. “I think that Justin Trudeau has been irresponsible in his language around how Canada’s asylum system should be accessed. I think he needs to be much more clear that you shouldn’t be entering Canada illegally and he should be more clear about the expectations that our system has in terms of legitimate claims so that our asylum system can be focused on helping the world’s most vulnerable.”

More here.

See my Canada archive here.

Temporary Ebola 'refugees' to be sent back to Africa (maybe)

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I recently reported on our ‘Temporary Protected Status‘ program which allows migrants who got in to the US through some other means to legally stay if some big catastrophe happens in their home country while they are here (sometimes illegally!).  As I write, demonstrations are being held around the US in an effort to keep Haitians here, but another TPS designation is about to expire and that is the one for Ebola ‘refugees’ from the Obama 2014 TPS designation.
Here is the news from AP at US News:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Hundreds of people living in Minnesota are expected to lose the temporary immigration status they were given when the Ebola epidemic hit three West African countries three years ago.

Ebola epicenter. BTW, we allowed Liberians to stay here for years and years under another TPS designation when they had a civil war. My question is this: why are civil wars around the world our problem?

The Homeland Security Department granted temporary protected status to about 5,000 West Africans in 2014, allowing residents from the most impacted countries to live and work in the U.S. legally until the outbreak was contained, Minnesota Public Radio reported (http://bit.ly/2pSGWom ).

In 2016, the countries were declared Ebola-free. The temporary immigration status was originally issued for an 18-month period, but it got two six-month extensions, with the last one ending this Sunday.

Advocates say Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone are still recovering from the outbreak, so it’s not safe to go home yet.

But others say programs designed to be temporary should end.

I will be shocked if the Trump Administration actually sends these fake refugees back to Africa.  This program is one of the most abused of our LEGAL immigration programs!

Temporary refugees sent $1.3 billion back to Haiti in 2015, expert tells Tucker

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

At first I didn’t think they were going to get to the crux of the matter when Tucker Carlson last night grilled Steve Forester, an attorney for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, about the upcoming Trump decision about whether to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti (we mentioned it here the other day).

Steve Forester of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. Someone should look more deeply into this organization and who funds it. http://www.ijdh.org/

At first they beat around the bush on whether there were any criminals in the Haitian population living legally (temporarily!) in the US, but with continued questioning Forester finally mentioned the ‘R-word’—remittances!
The 50,000 or so Haitians who got in to the US (mostly illegally) prior to the earthquake of 2010 were given a temporary amnesty to stay and work in America and according to Forester in 2015 alone sent $1.3 billion American dollars back to their home country.  That money is propping up Haiti and Forester says the country will be destabilized if those ‘temporary’ legal workers are returned to Haiti!
However, the question I have is: so what about the fact that that money is now lost to the US economy? And are those Haitian workers taking jobs Americans can do (or legal refugees might do)?

You know I mostly write about the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program where of course refugees are also sending billions ‘home,’ but it’s important for you to know about the many other programs for legal immigration, like TPS and the ‘Diversity Visa Lottery’ I told you about here the other day.

Disney wants the Haitian workers!

Forester told Tucker there were 50,000 Haitians here enjoying temporary protected status and have been here 7-15 years. I think Forester completely lost the audience (and Tucker) when he got to his final argument—Disney would lose 500 workers if TPS is not extended—instead of continuing his ‘humanitarian’ shtick.

Tucker commented that maybe Disney would have to pay higher wages to hire new (American) workers!
Watch the whole interview starting at 22:49 and ending at around 28:43.  You might want to watch the segment prior to the Haiti piece about how Mexicans aren’t too happy with all the Central Americans parked in their country who are no longer headed to the US border!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsoti6j9BO4
 
 
I have a category on Haiti here, with 56 previous posts!

Haitian 'temporary' refugees to test Trump's resolve on immigration

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I’ve written about ‘Temporary Protected Status’ over the years as a side issue here at RRW.  But, like the Diversity Visa Lottery, it begs for more attention from some intrepid wannabe blogger who should take on the issue as a sole priority and really do it justice.

TPS is basically a scam, it is rarely temporary!
The US, in its humanitarian zeal (supposedly), allows certain nationals who got in to the US in some other way (usually illegally) to stay if their home country cannot take them back for some extenuating reason (big storm, earthquake, civil war). Under TPS, these nationals become temporary refugees allowed to stay and work in America.
Then every 18 months, a TPS designation is extended for another 18 months and this can go on for years.
Click here to learn more and see the countries eligible for this special deal right now.  Note that Hondurans have had their special status extended ever since 1999.  El Salvador since 2001.
And, since we have such a huge refugee program from Somalia, I have never understood why Somalis have TPS.
At one point, during the Bush presidency (when he was extending again some TPS designation), I came to understand that those countries, like El Salvador, loved this program because their people working legally in the US were propping up the Salvadoran economy with their remittances (money sent out of the US economy to the third world country).
Here is the latest from the Miami Herald.  You see what happens, after years and years in the US, these people have jobs, houses, kids in school and they use that argument—you can’t possibly be so mean to send us back now—against us!
BTW, all of those on TPS had their hopes dashed when the ‘Gang of Eight’ legislation failed in Congress a few years ago. They were hoping for amnesty so they would never have to leave.
Miami Herald:

Immigration attorney Little calls the proposal to not extend TEMPORARY status to Haitians “heartless and stupid.”

The Trump administration is recommending sending tens of thousands of Haitians back to their homeland because it believes conditions have significantly improved in the disaster-prone, poverty-stricken nation.

[….]

James McCament, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said Temporary Protected Status, the immigration relief that has allowed Haitians to live and work freely in the United States, should be terminated. The Obama administration granted the status following the earthquake, which left more than 300,000 dead, 1.5 million injured and an equal number homeless.

“Conditions in Haiti no longer support its designation for TPS,” McCament said in a memo to U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary John F. Kelly obtained by the Miami Herald.

McCament’s recommendations came as a surprise to many, including Haitian and immigration advocates who have been pushing for the extension of TPS before July 22, when it is up for renewal.

Help OUR economy?  Someone should do a study about how much of our money leaves our economy through remittances!

“TPS beneficiaries contribute greatly to our economy,” said attorney Cheryl Little, whose Americans for Immigrant Justice organization also represents some of the estimated 300,000 Central Americans who have been enjoying the special status since 1999. “They are growing our economy and to suddenly say, ‘There is a new sheriff in town, pack your bags,’ it’s heartless and it’s stupid.”

The Center for American Progress had been closely monitoring the decision on Haiti because it’s the “first test of this administration’s commitment to handle TPS determinations in an apolitical manner that respects human rights and the letter of the law,” said Tom Jawetz, the center’s vice president for immigration policy.

It is a test for CAP and a test for those of us who supported Trump’s campaign promises!
Continue here for lots more at the Miami Herald clearly advocating for Haitians to stay!
One last thing! TPS allows those so designated to live and work here as if they were legal immigrants. And, it allows them to get drivers’ licenses.  It does not allow them to vote, but with drivers’ licenses, who is going to stop them?