TPS Recipients in Limbo Due to Trump-led Efforts to Eliminate Lawful Protections
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in reintroducing the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and in Emergency (SECURE) Act, which would allow qualified TPS recipients to apply for legal permanent residency.
“I’ve met with dozens of TPS families who have fled disaster and are contributing to our communities in Nevada,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “My legislation will create a pathway to legal permanent residency for TPS recipients and their families, and I will keep working to strengthen our border security and fix our broken immigration system.”
Currently, there are approximately 670,000 people with TPS in the United States—including about 6,300 TPS holders in Nevada—where they fill important gaps in our local economies and contribute billions of dollars every year in taxes. TPS for both El Salvador, Nicaragua, Nepal and Honduras is in jeopardy because of actions by the Trump administration that Senator Cortez Masto strongly opposed.
Under the SECURE Act, all TPS recipients who were qualified under the most recent TPS designation and who have been continuously present in the U.S. for at least three years would be eligible to apply for legal permanent residency. Additionally, the SECURE Act would:
- Ensure that a qualifying non-citizen’s spouse, domestic partner, or child is eligible for permanent resident status upon meeting certain requirements.
- Guarantee that individuals with a pending TPS application receive work authorization and are eligible for travel authorization.
- Provide protection from deportation for non-citizens with a pending application or who appear to be eligible for permanent status and intend to apply.
- Protect an applicant’s information from being shared or used for immigration enforcement purposes, with limited exceptions, such as for the identification of fraudulent claims.
- Require DHS to report to Congress when terminating a country’s TPS designation with an explanation to justify the termination.
In addition to Senators Cortez Masto, Van Hollen, Cardin, and Feinstein, this legislation is cosponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
This legislation is endorsed by the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), CASA, United Workers Party, TPS Alliance, and Working Families United.
Bill text can be viewed HERE.
The first and only Latina Senator, Senator Cortez Masto has consistently supported immigrant communities in Nevada, calling on the administration to take action to protect TPS holders and other immigrants, as well as leading commonsense legislation to fix our broken immigration system. She has worked to pass meaningful immigration reform that balances critical border security measures with a path to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, and essential workers, and she’s pushed legislation to allow Dreamers and TPS holders to work in Congress.
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