Fifteen US congressmen and women have written to Bush and Obama asking that Liberians in the US living under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) be granted another Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). Leading the pack of representatives is Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota. Minnesota is home to an estimated 25,000 Liberians.
For the 3,600 Liberians in the US under DED, their temporary legal status will expire on March 31, 2009.
In February 2007 a bill was introduced to the Senate called the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act. This bill would allow Liberians in the US on TPS to become permanent residents. I’m a little confused about this. My understanding was that anyone on TPS could apply for permanent residency. Perhaps this bill would automatically make Liberians on TPS permanent residents. I’ve heard that many Liberians are not fully informed about the process of becoming permanent residents. Would anyone like to clarify this for me?
Actually a major stipulation of TPS is that it DOES NOT lead to permanent residency. It has to be renewed by the DHS every year if your country is deemed unsafe. You do have the option to adjust your status if you qualify under another category (like marriage, employment based sponsorship, children that are over 21 that are US citizens, refugee -a civil war does not qualify you for refugee status). But if you do not qualify, like many , you are left hoping and praying to be for an extension. TPS started for Liberia in 1991, ended in 2007, and was changed to deferred enforced departure through March 31st 2009. That mean some people, like myself have had a legal temporary status for over 18 years. It makes life very difficult to agonize over being deported every year. I have been here since I was 3 years old and am now 25, I consider myself to be an American but have not had a path towards becoming a permanent resident here – I am not married and do not have kids, and could not possibly have a 21 year old kid. It’s hard and extremely frightening to think that I may be forced to live in to an impoverished war torn country that I do not even know. I hope this sheds some light on the issue. Let me know if you have questions.