WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced her co-sponsorship of the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and in Emergency (SECURE) Act. The bill would allow qualified Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients to apply for legal permanent residency.
“This Administration’s refusal to recertify TPS and DED designations has jeopardized the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of recipients. These are people who came to America fleeing conflict and disaster, and who have contributed to our communities for decades,” said Senator Rosen. “This legislation would allow qualified recipients to apply for legal permanent residency in order to remain in the United States, allowing these legal residents to continue building the lives they have made and contributing to our communities and our economy.”
BACKGROUND: Currently, there are an estimated 437,000 TPS recipients in the United States from ten designated countries: El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Liberians, originally granted TPS in 1999, are currently the only country protected by DED – that status is set to terminate on March 31, 2019.
This legislation would classify TPS and DED recipients who qualified under the most recent designation and who have been continuously present in the United States for at least three years as eligible to apply for legal permanent residency.
Last Congress, then-Congresswoman Rosen co-sponsored the American Promise Act, legislation to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit TPS or DED recipients to apply for legal permanent resident status if they are eligible for permanent resident status, apply for adjustment within three years, were granted or eligible for TPS or DED status on or before October 1, 2017, and have been continuously physically present in the U.S. for at least three years. According to the Center for American Progress, 6,300 people in Nevada are TPS holders from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. Approximately, 5,200 U.S.-born children in Nevada have parents from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti who have TPS.
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