Van-Hollen, Velázquez Want Answers on TPS Immigration Program

Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) have written to the Acting Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, expressing concerns with how the Administration is handling Temporary Protected Status (TPS) with regards to Guatemala, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Nicaragua has previously received the TPS designation, but the Administration has attempted to revoke it. Guatemala and Venezuela have yet to attain that status.

The letter also highlights the Administration’s previous attempts to use criminal convictions and public benefit information to justify termination of continued humanitarian protections to individuals from Haiti. In their letter, Velázquez and Van- Hollen ask if the administration has used similar methodologies to determine TPS eligibility for other foreign national groups.

Velázquez and Van-Hollen were joined by 59 Members of the House and Senate in sending the letter.  

The full letter text can be found here.