VOA新闻杂志2023--US Extends Protection for Migrants from Six Countries

US Extends Protection for Migrants from Six Countries

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden recently announced it is extending temporary protection from deportation¹ to migrants from six countries.

Nationals of Sudan, Ukraine, El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua can remain in the United States under the extended policy.

The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program permits migrants, whose home countries are considered unsafe, to live and work in the United States. They can do so under the program although they do not have normal legal permission to be in the country. However, they can only be in the U.S. for a set period of time, and they must meet U.S. government requirements.

Daniel Costa is director of immigration law and policy research at the Economic Policy Institute, an organization based in Washington, D.C. Costa said current TPS holders² have high employment rates and add billions of dollars to the U.S. economy every year.

"TPS raises wages through...work authorization³ for people who don't have it...Higher wages also mean more spending back in the economy, which creates more jobs," he said.

The United States first gave Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador Temporary Protected Status more than 20 years ago. When the Biden administration extended TPS for those countries in June, it was for people who were current TPS holders.

If the Biden administration again gives those countries temporary protected status, it would expand TPS for many people. It would permit any qualifying migrant who entered the U.S. during the last 20 years to receive TPS.

A report by the Niskanen Center, a Washington-based policy research organization, said the "vast majority" of TPS holders are employed.

"More than 94 percent of TPS holders were in the labor⁴ force as of 2017," the report stated. It said that they worked in industries including sales and health care. The 2017 report warned that ending TPS for just El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti would cause the U.S. economy to lose over $160 billion over 10 years.

Adding new countries

Immigrant organizations have called for the U.S. to give new TPS designations. They hope the government will add Mauritania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the program.

Nils Kinuani is the immigration coordinator⁵ for the Congolese Community of Washington Metropolitan⁶. He told VOA the group had conversations with U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials in April.

"We have been also working with congressional leaders to push for this designation," Kinuani said.

The U.S. Department of State says the DRC is suffering a humanitarian⁷ crisis marked by over 20 years of civil war and conflict.

Leaders of Black Mauritanians say the U.S. had an earlier policy of not deporting⁸ Mauritanians because of the country's human-rights record. Haddy Gassama is with the organization UndocuBlack Network. She wrote that the abuses "include the practice of enslaving Black people" and keeping a system of apartheid.

Apartheid is a political system of racial separation.

In January, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and Republican Representative Mike Carey sent a letter to Biden and other government officials to support TPS for Mauritanians living in the U.S. without legal permission.

Congress established TPS in 1990. Currently, 16 countries are designated for the program.

Current TPS holders who want to extend their protection must register again during the 60-day registration⁹ period for their country's designation. Re-registration opens soon for four countries, starting with El Salvador on September 10.

TPS designations are set for six, 12, or 18 months. About two months before a country's TPS ends, the DHS secretary has to decide if the U.S. will end or extend the TPS.

The TPS program does not lead to permanent U.S. residency. As of March, about 610,000 foreign nationals held temporary protected status.

TPS holders who leave the U.S. without first getting a travel authorization may lose their TPS status and may not reenter the country.

Words in This Story

deportation –n. the process of legally removing someone from a country who is not permitted by law to be in that country

wages –n. (pl.) money paid to a worker in exchange for the amount of time they worked

authorization –n. official permission to do, have or act as something

vast –adj. very large in size or extent

designation –n. the act of officially naming or choosing someone or something; the state of being named to a position or status under the law

residency –n. the status of legally being permitted to live in a place

1 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

2 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

3 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

6 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 deporting   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的现在分词 )；举止

参考例句：

9 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？