U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) joined a bipartisan contingent of 43 other lawmakers in calling on the Biden administration to redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nicaragua.
TPS is granted by the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to eligible foreign-born individuals who are unable to return home safely due to conditions or circumstances preventing their country from adequately handling the return, according to the National Immigration Forum.
“The blood-stained Ortega-Murillo regime and the Sandinistas are responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses and acts of religious persecutions in history,” Rep. Salazar said. “Hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled this tyranny and are seeking refuge in the United States. I call on the Department of Homeland Security to redesignate TPS for Nicaraguans who are continuing to flee from the Ortegas, the Sandinistas, and the horrors of Socialism of the 21st Century.”
The congresswoman and her colleagues reiterated that stance in an Oct. 11 letter sent to President Joe Biden, Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services Ur Jaddou, and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The lawmakers urged the administration to continue to evaluate the situation and rather than an 18-month TPS redesignation extension, to provide TPS redesignation for the approximately 450,000 Nicaraguans in the United States.
“We expect that a closer examination of the dire humanitarian situation in Nicaragua and the uncertainty of thousands who reside in the United States — including more than 200 who have been rendered stateless — will lead to a finding that TPS redesignation is necessary for Nicaragua,” they wrote, pointing out that the deteriorating rule of law in the country has been ongoing and is worsening.
In addition, the members wrote, the United Nations has warned of escalating attacks against Nicaraguan civil society; the country continues to recover from environmental disasters; and there are ongoing legal disputes regarding humanitarian parole.
“A TPS redesignation for Nicaragua would undoubtedly save lives and be one of the most consequential immigration policies to date for the administration,” wrote Rep Salazar and her colleagues. “A redesignation would provide security and opportunity to those already living in the United States and waiting in legal limbo. Furthermore, it would give these individuals, many of whom are already strongly integrated into their communities, permission to work and access key benefits.”
The lawmakers wrote that it “would be a missed opportunity to stand up for the values of human rights, democracy, and compassion for communities around the United States” if TPS redesignation is not granted.
“Nicaragua is enmeshed in a dire socio-political and humanitarian crisis that has grown considerably worse,” said U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), who led the letter. “Nicaraguans residing in the United States cannot safely return to their country, and it would be both irresponsible and cruel to send them back into harm’s way.”