Immigrant ARC Statement on the Designation of Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan

Immigrant ARC Statement on the Designation of Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan

Albany, NY; March 16th, 2022- With the Department of Homeland Security announcing the Designation of Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status, Immigrant ARC (I-ARC) issued the following statement.

Camille Mackler, Executive Director, Immigrant ARC: 

We commend the Biden administration for designating Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which will provide temporary protection from deportation and work authorization for thousands of Afghans who have been living in the United States and can no longer return home. However, while TPS will provide some relief to Afghans who were in the United States before March 15, 2022, it does not confer a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship nor does it help the tens of thousands Afghans who remain abroad, or who will arrive in the United States starting today. This leaves too many who will continue  to live under the constant threat of being returned to Afghanistan and facing persecution or death. We urge the Biden Administration to support the efforts of resettled Afghans and advocates by pushing Congress to pass a bi-partisan Afghan Adjustment Act. The administration must also continue to focus on the evacuation and resettlement of at-risk Afghans in Afghanistan and third-countries as well as the reunification of families.

We also encourage additional TPS designations for other nations such as Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mauritania and others, whose citizens have faced armed conflict and environmental disaster, and whose nationals and the crises that they face, are often overlooked by our immigration system perpetuating disparate outcomes for Black immigrants in the United States. 

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Immigrant ARC is a collaborative of over 80 organizations and professional associations providing legal services to New York’s immigrant communities throughout the State. Born out of the legal effort at JFK Airport during the Muslim Travel Ban in 2017, our mission is clear: to mobilize New York State’s legal service providers by facilitating communication and information sharing to better support our immigrant communities; to organize and respond to issues as they arise by coordinating resources and fostering best practices among providers; and to resist and challenge anti-immigrant policies by shining a light on injustices and confronting inequalities faced by our communities in the legal system.