U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) and members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation have urged President Donald Trump to allow Liberians from West Africa who have certain federal protections to continue living in the United States.
“Our state of Minnesota has one of the largest Liberian populations in the country. Many of them have been in our state for decades, and they are an important part of our communities, where they serve as business owners, teachers, and health care workers,” wrote Rep. Paulsen in a recent bipartisan, bicameral letter sent to the president that also was signed by Democratic U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and Democratic U.S. Reps. from Minnesota Keith Ellison, Tim Walz, Rick Nolan, Betty McCollum and Collin Peterson.
Specifically, the lawmakers asked Trump to extend the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) protection held by Liberians that is scheduled to expire on March 31.
“The lives and wellbeing of the Liberians living in our own community are at stake, and this is too important to let politics get in the way,” said Paulsen in a March 14 statement.
U.S. President George H.W. Bush in 1991 first granted Liberians who fled their country’s civil war Temporary Protected Status (TPS) through 2007, according to the lawmakers’ letter. Prior to TPS expiring, President George W. Bush provided Liberians with DED, which according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is within the president’s discretion to authorize as part of his power to conduct foreign relations. DED is not an immigration status, USCIS says, however individuals covered by DED are not subject to removal from the United States, usually for a specific period of time.
“Since 2007, DED has been extended six times, allowing recipients to remain in the United States legally and receive work authorization,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to President Trump, who supports immigration reforms on several fronts, including TPS/DED.
Rep. Paulsen on March 14 met with a group of Liberians who traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss with their representatives how expiring DED protections would affect them. Pastor Moses Punni of Exalted Praise Ministries in Minnesota, for example, told Paulsen that almost every Liberian adult living in their community has children who would be without one or more of their parents if they had to return to their African nation. “I am directly impacted by this issue,” said Pastor Punni, who would have to leave behind his 15-year-old child. “I ask the leadership of this country, including President Donald Trump, to look at this from a seat of mercy. It’s about our children. That’s why we’re making this appeal.”
“I’m grateful to the representatives of our Liberian community for coming to Washington to make their case directly to my fellow lawmakers and I will continue working across the aisle in urging the Administration to take action,” Paulsen said.
In a related effort, the congressman also has signed on as the sole Republican cosponsor of the bipartisan Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 2018, H.R. 5072, which was introduced on Feb. 20 by Rep. Ellison.
If enacted, H.R. 5072 would direct the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to grant permanent resident status to a qualifying Liberian national who has continuously lived in the United States from Nov. 20, 2014 through the date of making a status adjustment application; or who is the spouse, child, or unmarried son or daughter of such an alien, according to the congressional record summary. H.R. 5072 has been referred to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.