Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson issued the following statement in response to the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan until January 2020. The extension was made to comply with a court injunction issued last October by the U.S. Circuit Court for the Northern District of California after the Trump administration sought to end the programs.

“I am pleased that this extension will give hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrants a temporary reprieve from deportation–with temporary being the operative word. DHS is patting itself on the back for complying with a court order, but I have no doubt that the administration will continue its efforts to terminate TPS.

“It is incredulous that given DHS’s disgraceful and inhumane treatment of migrant families and the devastating impact of its family separation policy, the administration would make deporting hardworking immigrants who are in this country legally such a priority.

“I will continue to fight for the TPS program and push for the passage of legislation introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers and me to provide a pathway for certain nationals who received TPS before January 13, 2011, to adjust their status to Legal Permanent Resident. I also have introduced a bipartisan resolution to extend Temporary Protected Status to Haitian nationals until Haiti has demonstrably recovered from a series of natural and manmade disasters.”

Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson is a fourth-term Congresswoman from Florida representing parts of Northern Miami-Dade and Southeast Broward counties. A former state legislator and school principal, she is the founder of the 5000 Role Models for Excellence Project, a mentoring program for young males at risk of dropping out of school. Congresswoman Wilson also founded and chairs the Florida Ports Caucus, a bipartisan taskforce that coordinates federal action in support of Florida’s harbors and waterways. The Florida lawmaker sits on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee, and chairs the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions.

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