The Trump administration is ramping up efforts to get rid of programs that provide temporary residency permits for immigrants from countries ravaged by natural and human catastrophes.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced its decision to terminate protections granted to Nepali immigrants after a massive earthquake devastated their country in 2015.
The move follows similar cancellations of temporary protections for immigrants from other countries hit by natural disasters or violent conflicts, including El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan.
The Temporary Protected Status program was created by Congress in 1990 to avoid sending foreigners back to nations destabilized by natural disasters, armed conflict and other calamities. Admission into the TPS program shields immigrants from deportation, grants them a work permit and allows them to travel outside the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security terminated the TPS designation for Nepal following a review, required by law, that concluded the South Asian country has recovered sufficiently to accommodate the return of its citizens living in the United States. The protections for Nepali immigrants ends June 24, 2019, a grace period designed to allow an orderly transition.
“Since the 2015 earthquake, conditions in Nepal have notably improved. Additionally, since the last review of the country’s conditions in October 2016, Nepal has made substantial progress in post - earthquake recovery and reconstruction, ” the department said in a statement.
Pemba Sherpa, co - owner of La Casa restaurant in Sonoma with strong ties to the Nepali community in Sonoma, said there are many regions in Nepal that have not recovered from the 2015 earthquake.
“There are still a lot of people that are impacted, their houses haven’t been rebuilt, ” he said. “Many people still do not have houses, they’re living in shelters and when monsoons and rainy season comes, it’s a very tough life for them. ”
Sherpa, who is a naturalized U. S. citizen, said most people who lost everything during the earthquake had no homeowners insurance to replace their properties. What little money and help they’ve received from nongovernmental organizations is not nearly enough to replace their homes and everything they lost, he said.
Sherpa lamented the cancellation of TPS for Nepali immigrants, saying recovering from the impact of the earthquake “will take time. ” The decision to terminate the TPS designation for Nepal will affect 9, 000 people across the United States. It is unclear how many of Sonoma County’s 400 foreign - born Nepali are TPS holders.
Source: Santa Rosa Press Democrat
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