Tancredo Demands Bush Revoke Protective Status Visas

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado) today asked the President to allow 3,500 Liberian nationals to repatriate their country and not grant another Temporary Protective Status (TPS) extension for them, and to a number of other countries who are no longer in need of the refugee protective status the visas grant.

"Congress granted the administration the authority to grant temporary refuge to aliens from particular country where circumstances such as an ongoing armed conflict would pose a threat to their security, or where a natural disaster in the country has resulted in a substantial but temporary disruption of living conditions," said Tancredo in the letter to President Bush. "Unfortunately, this designation has been abused."

Congressman Tancredo noted in the letter that TPS status was granted to Honduran and Nicaraguan nationals at the end of 1998 following Hurricane Mitch. TPS status for Salvadoran nationals was granted early in 2001 as a result of earthquakes hitting the region. They continue this designation despite the fact that any temporary dislocations directly attributed to natural disasters have long since ended.

In reference to the Liberian government expressing a desire that TPS be extended to nationals because they want to continue to have millions of dollars in remittances sent home, Tancredo added, "While I appreciate their position, the TPS program was not created as a bilateral economic aid program. It was enacted to allow foreign nationals temporary refuge in the U.S. when circumstances in their home country have deteriorated or become temporarily untenable."

Tancredo concluded, "It is interesting to note that the countries of El Salvador and Nicaragua have launched tourism promotion websites - encouraging Americans to take vacations and hold business conventions in their countries. Evidently, the effects of 1990's earthquakes and hurricanes on which prior TPS designations were predicated have long since passed - at least as far as tourism in concerned."

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