Democratic senators are calling on the Biden administration to extend deportation protections and work permits for undocumented immigrants in the United States ahead of a historic mass deportation campaign by the incoming Trump administration.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Democrat of Nevada, said: Post to X “President Biden has the power to protect immigrant families, and I am calling on him to use it.”
He pointed to the use of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), administered by the Department of Homeland Security, which allows citizens already living in the United States to obtain work permits and protection from deportation.
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Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto holds a Border Patrol challenge coin as she speaks about Republicans abandoning the bipartisan border agreement during a Senate Democratic press conference at the U.S. Capitol on February 6 in Washington, D.C. Congressman (Neverland State Democratic Party). (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
TPS provides protection to nationals from countries deemed unsafe to return to. The system has been used extensively by the Biden administration, including to protect hundreds of thousands of citizens from Haiti and Venezuela.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is seeking to provide additional protections to people protected from deportation through the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The program benefited illegal immigrants who came to the United States as minors.
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President Biden speaks to reporters outside St. Edmund's Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on August 31. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Senator)
“They are part of our community and all the president can do is take legal action to extend their TPS status,” Cortez Masto said on MSNBC on Tuesday. “But it's not just our TPS recipients. My hope is that the president will also expedite applications for DACA recipients over the next two months. We want our Dreamers to be here, too. They need to make sure they have the ability to stay and continue to participate in the country in which they grew up. ”
The first Trump administration sought to repeal DACA, but failed and curtailed the use of TPS. The next administration is expected to end TPS for many nationalities or allow it to expire without renewal.
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Cortez Masto highlighted the Trump campaign's promise to launch a mass deportation campaign as a basis for extending TPS and adding DACA protections.
“They are going to do mass deportations and no one will be safe,” she said. “That's why I'm calling on the government to take action now to protect some immigrant communities, TPS recipients, DACA recipients, and at least give them certainty and protect their families. “Together.” “
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The Biden administration most recently transitioned to TPS in October, extending and redesignating TPS for Lebanese nationals. This means that new citizens who were not initially eligible will be able to apply for protection.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates that about 11,000 Lebanese are eligible for both TPS and Deferred Departure, a similar use of executive power controlled by the president.
