Representative Adriano Espaillat Leads Successful Congressional Effort to Grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelan Migrants
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) issued the following statement following the Biden Administration’s announcement that it would adhere to Espaillat’s call to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelans here in the U.S.
“As a nation founded by immigrants seeking freedom from oppression, the United States of America bears an important and inherent responsibility to help immigrants obtain refuge from dire situations across the globe,” said Espaillat. “The Biden Administration’s decision to grant TPS to 472,000 Venezuelans here in the U.S. is a tremendous step forward for our country.
“TPS is a statutory program that allows all immigrants from specific, beleaguered nations that are experiencing armed conflict or other extraordinary circumstances to receive temporary protection from deportation. Most importantly, the program also allows immigrants to receive expedited work authorization in the U.S. without having to undergo a six-month waiting period. This means that hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers around the country will now be immediately eligible to work to support themselves and their families, allowing them to leave overcrowded migrant shelters and lessening the burden on the cities and localities like New York.
“FWD.US, a leading immigration thinktank, estimates that there are likely at least 28,000 Venezuelans in New York City alone that will benefit from this redesignation of TPS for Venezuela. With work permits, and if working in the labor force at the same rate as previous Venezuelan immigrants to New York City, they will fill more than 15,000 jobs in the City. And, if they join the same industries as previous immigrants from Venezuela, this will mean that an additional 2,000 jobs will be filled in each of the following industries: construction, manufacturing, retail, transportation and warehousing, hospitality, and several other industries currently experiencing serious job shortages.
“New York City continues to be the epicenter of an influx of new arrivals, many of whom are Venezuelan migrants fleeing an unprecedented economic, social, and political collapse in their home country. In turn, I have had numerous meetings with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials to discuss TPS for these deserving families. Additionally, over the past year, I have lead three separate Congressional letters to the Biden administration specifically asking for TPS for newly-arrived Venezuelan immigrants, with my most recent bipartisan letter being sent to the administration on September 14th. I also published an op-ed earlier this week in The Hill urging TPS protections for these families. Today, our efforts have finally succeeded, as the Biden administration has agreed to take this necessary step to allow protection, jobs, and stability for migrant families who have traversed thousands of miles to live and work here.
“Overall, the Biden administration’s action to redesignate newly arrived Venezuelan migrants for TPS will help relieve the strain on cities like New York and help countless families. But our work is not done, and I vow to continue working in collaboration with the administration, DHS, New York City leaders and others to support these new arrivals and ensure they can live and work here safely.”
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Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his fourth term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities and serves as Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the committee during the 118th Congress. He is also a member of the House Budget Committee and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Deputy Chair as well as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). Rep. Espaillat is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.
Media inquiries: Candace Person at Candace.Person@mail.house.gov