Washington, DC – Today marks one year since the Department of Homeland Security brushed off concerns from non-governmental organizations about the conditions in Venezuela and the need for a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for this country.
A year later, another one million people have been forced to flee Venezuela, and the Trump administration continues to dither and delay action. If trends continue, Venezuela will soon become the largest refugee crisis in the world.
Following are quotes from faith leaders, who say it is unconscionable that the U.S. government so far refuses to provide TPS for Venenzuelans living in the United States—people who are contributing to this nation and must not be deported back to chaos, scarcity, and instability.
“By continuing to merely ‘monitor’ the situation in Venezuela, the administration is abdicating its responsibility to protect vulnerable Venezuelans in the United States from having to return to dangerous conditions,” said Anna Gallagher, Executive Director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., or CLINIC. “Food, medicine and electricity have become rare commodities there, making it an unsafe environment for anyone. The Department of Homeland Security must use TPS as Congress intended — to protect people affected by exactly this kind of upheaval. Lives hang in the balance.”
“The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has a growing relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Venezuela (IELV), through which we provide funding to bring relief to families that are being affected by the political and economic crisis, and support with advocacy efforts the nearly 30,000 Venezuelans that have applied for protection in the United States since 2018. With a weakened health system due to the six year economic collapse, COVID-19 is only going to worsen the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. In fact, the spread of the virus is already threatening the country’s transport, health and food delivery services, and with that the livelihoods of the Venezuelan people. This global pandemic has only emphasized even more the urgency of why the United States government should grant temporary protected status (TPS) to the Venezuelans who have sought shelter in the United States. The TPS program was designed to prevent foreign nationals from being deported back to countries facing civil unrest or the aftermath of a devastating natural disaster. Venezuela is in exactly the sort of situation that TPS was designed to address,” said Reverend Jaime Dubon, ELCA’s Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Another one million men, women and children have fled Venezuela in the past twelve months, with their formerly prosperous country in tatters. Now is not the time for the U.S. government to deport Venezuelans, sending them back to a country with scarce food and increasing violence. We again call for the U.S. government to offer Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans who already are living safely in the U.S.,” said Lawrence E. Couch, Director, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.
“Venezuela is in crisis. Its people face an uncertain future that offers little promise for safety and prosperity. To deny Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans living in the United States— families who are paying taxes and serving their communities—is unconscionable. The bare minimum this administration can do is ensure that these men, women, and children will not be callously returned to chaos during a pandemic, yet they refuse to act. Many of those who are vulnerable without this status are married to, parents of, or children of American citizens. Our faith dictates that we demand more from our elected officials. Today that means we ask them to show some basic decency by letting our neighbors sleep soundly in their homes,” said Reverend John L. McCullough, President and CEO of Church World Service.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 55 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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