Diverse Faith Leaders Call for Extension and Re-Designation of TPS for Yemen and Somalia
Washington, DC — The U.S. State Department recently issued Red (Level 4) warnings against travel to Yemen and Somalia, citing crime, terrorism, civil unrest, health problems, kidnapping, armed conflict, piracy, and other risks to personal safety. Also in 2019, President Trump extended the declaration of a state of national emergency in Somalia, citing “acts of violence committed against civilians in Somalia.”
For these and many other reasons, faith leaders and faith-based organizations are calling on the Trump administration to extend AND redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Yemen and Somalia.
TPS for Yemen expires March 3, 2020 and for Somalia expires March 17, 2020. In 2019, though, the situation in these countries has only grown more dangerous. “These are the very conditions Congress warned about when it created TPS,” said Jill Marie Bussey, Advocacy Director at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC). “Ending TPS and deporting people to these countries would put them in danger, and separate them from the families, jobs, and lives they have worked so hard to build. There’s no doubt that TPS saves lives. Anything less than extension and redesignation of TPS for Somalia and Yemen would be unconscionable.”
On December 13, CLINIC delivered letters from more than 130 faith leaders and organizations, across religious traditions, urging the administration to extend and redesignate TPS for nationals of Yemen and Somalia.
Yemen is in its fifth year of brutal civil war, and conditions continue to deteriorate. As of September 2019, Yemen remains “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world,” according to a number of human rights organizations. More than 3.6 million people are displaced; at least 6,827 civilians have been killed and 10,000 wounded since the start of the conflict. Every month, 37 children are killed or maimed by bombs and disease.
In Somalia, the interfaith letter states that “[l]ayers of conflict involving intra-clan and intra-security forces, al-Shabaab, Somali government forces and international actors continue to impact civilians. In 2019, al-Shabaab has carried out attacks nearly every day, killing at least 1,600 people.” The letter closes with this:
Earlier this year, Pope Francis reminded us, “A person’s dignity does not depend on them being a citizen, a migrant, or a refugee. Saving the life of someone fleeing war and poverty is an act of humanity.” In line with our belief and understanding of humanity as a common family, called to support and protect one another, we urge you to grant the maximum protection possible through 18-month extension and redesignation.
Sister Marie Lucey, Associate Director of Franciscan Action Network, said: “It would be a travesty of U.S. values of compassion and protection for those most in need to not extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status for nearly 1,500 Yemeni and 500 Somali nationals in this country. As followers of Jesus and St. Francis of Assisi, members of Franciscan Action Network reach out with compassion and mercy to the most vulnerable. We urge the U.S. to live up to its proclaimed values.”
“Our God, whom the prophet Isaiah reminded ‘was despised and familiar with pain,’ also ‘took up pain and bore suffering’ (Isaiah 53:3-4) of others in distress,” said Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director of Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries. “Our faith challenges us to bear some of the pain of current TPS recipients from Yemen and Somalia; whose nations are in the midst of the world’s worst humanitarian crises of displacement, hunger, disease, and armed conflicts. We have an opportunity to be more God-like by extending and redesignating TPS status to our neighbors who have suffered so deeply for far too long.”
Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, said: “For hundreds of our nation’s TPS recipients from Yemen and Somalia, a decisive moment approaches. We must not allow their legal status and protection to be removed. As people of faith, we know the suffering of those in our immigrant communities. They need continued legal protection in order to work, raise families, and share in the bounty of the country they helped build. The extension and redesignation of TPS for Yemen and Somalia is right and just. This is the faithful way forward.”
“Somali and Yemeni nationals have already been targeted by this Administration through the Muslim ban and the attack on refugee resettlement. Through AFSC’s work with young people in Somalia, we have seen that Somali nationals still face threats to their lives due to famine and U.S. drone strikes. The safety and stability of Yemeni nationals is also being threatened by U.S.-backed violence and food scarcity. These countries are not safe for returning nationals. The Administration should uphold values that emphasize full protection – extension and redesignation of TPS- for communities that are clearly in need,” said Peniel Ibe, Policy Engagement Coordinator of the American Friends Service Committee.
Hassan El-Tayyab, Legislative Manager for Middle East Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers) said: “U.S. military support for the Saudi-UAE led war in Yemen has helped create the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet. It’s a simple matter of moral decency to redesignate the Temporary Protected Status for Yemenis living in the United States, giving them a chance to live in peace and safety, free from the threat of U.S.-made bombs falling on them. We urge the administration to extend and re-designate TPS for Yemeni and Somali people who are facing return to imminent harm.”
The Rev. Amy Reumann, Director of Advocacy, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said: “The ongoing civil unrest, terrorism and violence in Yemen and Somalia demand that the people who have found safety in the United States through Temporary Protected Status be allowed to extend their stays past the upcoming deadlines. The ELCA supports a generous policy of welcome for persons who have had to flee their homes, as an expression of our nation’s core values and a recognition of the image of God imprinted on every human being. It is imperative that the Trump Administration extend and redesignate TPS for nationals of Yemen and Somalia. Their forced return will do nothing to address the conflict situations in each nation and will unnecessarily endanger people who we know and value as our neighbors.”
Reverend John L. McCullough, President and CEO, Church World Service, said: “One need only look at what is happening in Yemen and Somalia to understand that the United States is duty-bound to take action. For years we have looked to these countries and seen a steady increase in violence and collapse of the rule of law. We cannot in good conscience send people of these nations back to such grave danger. Extending Temporary Protected Status to these men, women, and children is not only in line with our beliefs as members of the faith community, but the very values our nation was founded upon.”
“They have plans, hopes and expectations, which are on hold with fears that their dreams will become nightmares. And now they are running out of time. These TPS – Temporary Protected Status – holders from Somalia and Yemen are looking to the U.S. government for a permanent, legislative solution allowing them to safely remain in the United States. Their countries are in the throes of armed conflict and a brutal civil war. As Catholics, our faith requires that everyone should be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. The National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd calls on the Department of Homeland Security to extend TPS for Somalia and Yemen,” said Lawrence E. Couch, Director, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.
Read and download the letters here:
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 54 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
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