[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 4 (Monday, January 8, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H7]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1900
EL SALVADOR TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS
(Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my disappointment
with the administration's decision to terminate temporary protected
status--TPS--for hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans. This decision
comes just after it terminated TPS for Haiti and Nicaragua.
In 2001, El Salvador was struck by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that
left destruction and tragedy in its wake, resulting in 250,000
Salvadorans coming to the U.S. seeking safety. Since then, they have
been key parts of our communities and important contributors for our
economy. It is cruel and inhumane to tell them that they will no longer
be afforded temporary status here in the U.S. and that they have to go
back to unsafe and uncertain conditions.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the administration to reverse the decision to
terminate TPS for El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Haiti. I ask my
colleagues to join me in a letter to the administration asking it to
right this wrong and to also extend this status for Honduras.
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