U.S. Bishops Issue Statement on Elimination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Migrants

This week, the U.S. Bishops issued a statement addressing a U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision reversing a previous ruling blocking the termination of temporary protected legal status for migrants living legally in the U.S. 

Temporary protected status (TPS) is protection offered to foreign nationals fleeing their countries because of war, natural disasters, or other conditions that prevent migrants from safely returning to their countries. TPS was authorized by Congress in 1990 through an amendment to U.S. immigration law.  

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, auxiliary bishop of Washington, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, and Sean Callahan, president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, issued a statement this week raising concerns about the decision and its impact on the migrants currently living in the U.S. with legal protected status, and calling upon Congress to act due to ongoing concerns over migrants returning to their countries in the face of the global pandemic and ongoing instability.

“We renew our call for the U.S. Senate to take up the American Dream and Promise Act, which the House passed last year,” they stated. “We stand ready to support such efforts. Without action by Congress, however, recipients’ lives will be upended. Congress must act to ensure that such catastrophic human consequences do not occur.”

To review the entire statement, click here.