[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 40 (Friday, March 6, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3058-H3059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




GRANTING DEFERRED ENFORCED DEPARTURE FOR LIBERIANS LIVING IN THE UNITED 
                                 STATES

  (Mr. PAULSEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAULSEN. Madam Speaker, temporary protective status for Liberians 
living in the United States will expire at the end of this month. In my 
district, the thriving Liberian community is on edge as this date draws 
closer. I know many of them personally. They have established homes, 
they have raised families, they have opened businesses and they have 
entered the fabric of our community.
  While progress has been made in stabilizing Liberia in recent years, 
it remains a nation still recovering from civil war. Unemployment is 
near 80 percent. Democracy is in its early stages now, and we all know 
how challenging that process can be. Many of the same fears and 
concerns that brought thousands of Liberians here in the first place 
have not been alleviated.
  Liberia is simply not ready to absorb the number of people who will 
be forced to leave the United States if this deadline is not extended. 
That is why I sent a letter to President Obama last month urging him to 
extend the deadline by

[[Page H3059]]

granting deferred enforced departure for Liberians living in the United 
States. I am reiterating that call today, and ask my colleagues to join 
in this important effort.

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