[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 53 (Monday, March 30, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E814]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             EXTENDING DED

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DONNA F. EDWARDS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 30, 2009

  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Madam Speaker, I want to applaud President 
Obama for extending DED until March 31, 2010, enabling many Liberian 
families to remain together in the United States for 12 months beyond 
the original March 31, 2009 expiration of DED. However, I urge the 
Administration to create a permanent path to citizenship for Liberians 
who have called the United States home for over a decade.
  Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was established in 1991 to allow 
Liberians fleeing political turmoil to stay in the United States 
without fear of deportation. Since arriving in the United States in the 
early 1990s, Liberians under TPS have built lives in this country; they 
have established careers, paid taxes, and bought property. TPS ended in 
2007 and President Bush deferred the enforced departure of Liberians 
who were originally granted TPS. TPS is meant to provide a temporary 
safe haven in times of political turmoil or natural disaster. It was 
not contemplated that the political turmoil in Liberia would persist 
for so many years, but it did.
  Since coming to this country, many Liberians have married and had 
American-born children. Many have attained United States citizenship 
themselves. However, according to The New York Times, many of the 
approximately 3,600 Liberians residing lawfully under DED have applied 
for legal citizenship, including one of my constituents, Janvier 
Richards, but the process has been delayed for well over ten years for 
her and many others. If DED expires before Ms. Richards and other 
Liberians under DED are granted citizenship, their only legal option is 
to return to Liberia, which many no longer consider home.
  Tremendous strides have been made by Liberian President Ellen Johnson 
Sirleaf, and I commend her leadership. Unfortunately, Liberia still has 
many political and economic challenges to overcome. Liberia has an 
unemployment rate of about 85 percent and, if Liberians under DED are 
forced to return to Liberia before economic and political stability are 
fully established, they may be unable to support themselves and their 
families.
  Again, I applaud President Obama for extending DED for Liberians 
until 2010, averting the separation of families and the splintering of 
communities that surely would have occurred had departure been enforced 
on March 31, 2009. I am hopeful that we will be able to reverse the 
policies of earlier Administrations and forge a permanent path to 
citizenship for Liberians under DED.

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