LOS ANGELES – The groundswell movement, urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to grant full Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to the Philippines, has become bigger and stronger.
Recently, key politicians in the United States expressed their support for granting TPS to the Philippines, which is still recovering from the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan.
These high-profile supporters include 35 United States Congressmen (led by Rep. Mike Honda and Rep. Ed Royce) LA City Mayor Eric Garcetti, and LA City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell.
On March 26, Honda and Royce led the charge in Congress, as they rallied for 32 fellow lawmakers to sign a “Dear Colleague” letter addressed to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, urging him to grant TPS to the Philippines.
“We are proud of the swift American military and civilian assistance to the relief and recovery operations. However, nearly four months after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, and three months since the Philippines submitted their official request for TPS, we urge you to grant this delayed designation,” the bipartisan group of lawmakers said.
The lawmakers said that given the scale of damage sustained by the affected communities, the Philippines meets the necessary requirements for TPS.
Granting TPS would also allow the Philippine government to focus on providing timely aid to the typhoon survivors, they added.
“Moreover, given the unhealthy circumstances and destroyed homes in the affected areas, many Filipinos are unable to return to safe living conditions,” the lawmakers said.
In November 2013, a group of congressmen had already sent a letter to then-acting DHS Secretary Beers, asking him to designate the country for TPS. Honda and Royce were also among those who signed the first letter of support.
The Nov. 2013 letter from lawmakers came at the heels of the official request from the Philippine government (coursed through the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC) requesting for TPS designation.
“We would like to express our continued support on this matter. As TPS has been designated in the wake of similar natural disasters that have impacted countries like El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua, we now urge your prompt attention to consider designation the Philippines for TPS,” the lawmakers said as they concluded their letter.
Other representatives who signed the letter to DHS include Eliot Engel, Joe Heck, Tulsi Gabbard, Madeleine Bordallo, Adam Schiff, Robert C. Scott, Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan, Eric Swalwell, Ted S. Yoho, Jack F. Speier, Jim McDermontt, Alan Lowenthal, Raul Grijalva, Susan Davis, Colleen Hanabusa, Janice Schakowsky, Barbara Lee, Judy Chu, Grace Napolitano, Charles B. Rangel, Grace Meno, Adam Smith, Eni Flaeomavaega, Mark Pocan, James P. McGovern, Tony Cardenas, Dina Titus, Tammy Duckworth, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Conyers, Jr., David Valadeo, and Henry Waxman.
Support from LA
In Los Angeles, where there is a considerable population of Filipinos, local officials have also come out to support the move.
LA City Mayor Eric Garcetti penned a letter on March 26 to DHS Secretary Johnson for the granting of TPS to the Philippines.
“The City of Los Angeles is home to the largest population of Filipinos living in the United States, and is likely to be home to most TPS eligible immigrants,” Garcetti wrote.
Coming from a family of immigrants himself, Garcetti also said that LA has become “a home away from home” for Filipinos traveling to the US for business and for family.
“Our residents have firsthand knowledge of how people’s lives have been affected. Filipino nationals in Los Angeles, working alongside Filipino-Americans, have been at the forefront of relief efforts, but the process of rebuilding lives and a country takes time. Granting TPS status is an important step toward maintaining an effective and sustained relief effort,” the Los Angeles mayor added.
Aside from the mayor’s letter, another motion in support of TPS for Filipinos was also introduced to the LA City Council.
LA City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell (who represents the district where Historic Filipinotown belongs) introduced a city council resolution that expresses support of legislation and/or administrative action to grant TPS to Philippine nationals “to prevent their deportation while their country recovers from Super Typhoon Haiyan.”
According to an O’Farrell aide, the LA City Council will put the resolution to a vote on April 2, at 10am in the City Council Chambers in City Hall.
Continuing campaign
In a recent statement, the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) — an LA-based community group that’s heavily involved in the TPS for PH campaign — revealed that State Department Secretary John Kerry has finally signed the study and recommendation (re: TPS for PH) and has given it to the DHS.
However, PWC clarified that the content of Kerry’s recommendation was not made available to the public. As such, it is not known if Sec. Kerry’s recommendation is in favor of full TPS designation.
Currently, the DHS is waiting for the recommendation of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Atty. Rio Guerrero, a member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and a staunch advocate of Relief 2 Recovery (the national campaign pushing for TPS for PH), told Asian Journal that sources within the government indicated that there is reason to be optimistic about the recommendation of USCIS.
“There are whispers from sources that the USCIS recommendation is clear to [the] DHS,” Guerrero said.
However, he also pointed out that there has been no official US government statement on whether the USCIS has actually issued its recommendations to the DHS.
“Popular belief is that USCIS supports a full designation of TPS. But it may not support a limited TPS designation (such as TPS granted for only a certain geographic area) because implementation may be impractical. Thus we must continue to push for full TPS designation,” Guerrero added.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek April 2-4, 2014 Sec A pg.1)
