Four South Florida congressional representatives--Republican U.S. Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democrats U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings and Frederica Wilson--teamed up on Tuesday to unveil a proposal giving more than 300,000 migrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua permanent resident status.
Noting the problems in those four countries, the representatives unveiled their “Extending Status Protection for Eligible Refugees (ESPERER) Act” on Tuesday. The proposal, according to Curbelo’s office, “would allow qualified migrants that arrived to the United States and received Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protection prior to January 13, 2011, to adjust their status to legal permanent resident status.”
Under current law, migrants are granted TPS by reporting to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), receiving a work authorization and paying a fee.
Curbelo made the case on Tuesday as to why he thought the bill was needed.
“While hoping and waiting they would be able to return to their native countries for years, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, Honduran and Haitian migrants have become essential parts of the South Florida community by contributing to our local economy and our culture,” Curbelo said. “The continued short-term extensions of TPS have created anxiety and uncertainty not only for these migrants and their families, but also for their employers and neighbors whose prosperity also depends on them. While I will continue to support extensions for Temporary Protected Status, this bipartisan legislation would give these migrants the peace of mind to continue giving back to their communities, contributing to our economy and supporting their families.”
The other South Florida representatives also offered their reasons why the bill was needed.
“So many in our community who arrived under Temporary Protected Status years ago have made South Florida their home,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “These neighbors have become an integral part of our society and contribute to every sector of our economy. I'm cosponsoring this bill, introduced by my friend and colleague, Carlos, so that Nicaraguans, Haitians, Salvadorans, and Hondurans who abide by our laws are not anxious about deportation, and can instead continue to contribute to the economic prosperity of our local communities.”
“I am proud to be part of this bipartisan effort to provide a permanent solution for families living in the United States with temporary protected status. I also have introduced a bipartisan measure to extend TPS for Haitian nationals until their country has demonstrably recovered from a plethora of disasters, including an earthquake, a cholera epidemic, a hurricane and other travesties,” said Wilson. “It is in the meantime imperative that we not forget the economic, cultural and other contributions that people living and working in the United States thanks to this measure are making to both to our nation and their native countries. In addition, I reiterate my call to Department of Homeland Security officials to join me on a trip to Haiti to survey firsthand the severe hardships the country continues to endure. There will be no doubt in their minds when they leave that the island nation is in no position to absorb and aid tens of thousands of deportees from the United States.”
“I continue to work for a full 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals, as well as others living here under TPS,” said Hastings. “I am proud to join today’s bipartisan effort to provide these individuals with a pathway to legal permanent residency in our country. Recipients of TPS are law abiding, hardworking taxpayers, thousands of whom have lived in this country for decades, and who have made tremendous contributions to their communities and to our country. I want thank Representatives Curbelo, Wilson, and Ros-Lehtinen for their diligent work on today’s bill. I call on House leadership to bring our bill to the floor without delay.”
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. So far, there is no companion bill in the U.S. Senate.
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