Take Action to #SaveTPS

On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced its decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Salvadorans in the United States. This decision follows the recent TPS terminations for Sudan, Nicaragua, and Haiti, and is yet another attack on immigrant communities. TPS is a program designed to protect people from being returned to harm - precisely the conditions El Salvador faces today, including gang conscription, sexual violence, and human trafficking. As a nation, we promised to protect nearly 200,000 Salvadoran neighbors by allowing them to remain in the United States.

Join us in urging the administration to restore El Salvador's TPS designation, and calling on Congress to pass a permanent legislative solution for all TPS holders. Click here for our Interfaith Toolkit: Top 5 Ways to Take Action in the New Year.

Here are the top 5 ways you can help! 

(1) Call Your Members of  Congress at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to do everything in their power to see the TPS designation for El Salvador be re-instated, and to pass a permanent legislative solution for TPS holders. You will receive a phone call and be patched through to your 2 Senators and 1 Representative.

Here's an example of what you might say: “I’m your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], I support Temporary Protected Status for my Salvadoran neighbors, and I oppose the administration's recent decision to terminate it. I urge you to do everything in your power to see that the administration reinstates TPS for El Salvador for another 18 months, and to issue statements and make floor remarks supporting Salvadoran TPS holders. I call on you to demonstrate bold leadership and support a permanent, legislative solution that protects all TPS holders from being separated from their families. My community welcomes immigrants, and I urge you to reflect the best of our American values of compassion and welcome.”

(2) Amplify on Social Media and Join the Prayer Chain: Record a video or take a picture of yourself holding a printed, filled out #Faith4TPS sign. Upload your video to Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with the hashtag #Faith4TPS and tag the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (@interfaithimm). Don't forget to tweet at your Members of Congress and @realDonaldTrump.

Here is a sample tweet you can send: "@Legislator I urge you to support TPS for El Salvador, and to find a permanent legislative solution for all TPS holders #Faith4TPS". 

Here is a sample facebook post: "I am a constituent from [your town/district] and I stand in solidarity with my Salvadoran TPS holder neighbors, and urge congress and the administration to restore the TPS designation for El Salvador. My community welcomes and values immigrants, and we want a permanent legislative solution that protects all TPS holders to be passed". 

Click here for more sample social media posts and here for graphics.

(3) Organize Local Events: Hold vigils, rallies and other events within your community to show your support for TPS holders. Guidance on how to organize events and to maximize impact is available here.

(4) Write for Media: Elevate the public call by publishing a letter to the editor denouncing the termination of El Salvador's TPS designation, and calling on Congress to pass a permanent solution for TPS holders. Click here for sample op-eds, LTEs, and other resources on how to pitch and place media pieces.

(5) Write & share press releases condemning the decision to terminate TPS for El Salvador. For a template press release, please click here. For more information on our faithful call to stand with TPS holders, please visit: interfaithimmigration.org/TPS.

For more information to assist TPS holders in understanding DHS decisions on TPS, including terminations and indecisions, please visit: https://cliniclegal.org/resources/making-sense-administrations-decisions-temporary-protected-status-quick-guide-temporary

Please spread the word, and thank you for all your work and support!

Take Action: Extend TPS for El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti

 The administration has terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Nicaragua, effective January 5, 2019. The administration was unable to decide whether to extend TPS for Honduras, resulting in an automatic six-month extension until July 5, 2018. However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) signaled the possibility that the TPS designation for Honduras might also be terminated at the end of the six-month automatic extension and the fate of TPS holders from El Salvador and Haiti are still in jeopardy.

This decision illustrates the administration’s prioritization of anti-immigrant sentiment over an honest assessment of in-country conditions. It also shows the cruelty and inhumanity of DHS to force TPSholders to continue to live with uncertainty and fear.

This decision must be met with a swift and powerful response by our elected leaders and community members. Our Senators and Representatives need to hear that their constituents stand with TPSholders and call on Congress to ensure TPS holders are protected from deportation. Please take 6 minutes to call your Members of Congress (2 minutes per Member) right now and make your voice heard!
 

Urge Your Members of Congress to Support TPS Holders and #SaveTPS!
(202) 224-3121
Please call 3x for your 2 Senators and 1 Representative

Sample Script:

“I’m your constituent from [City, State]. As a person of faith, I stand in solidarity with my immigrant neighbors and support Temporary Protected Status (TPS). I strongly condemn the administration’s termination of TPS for Nicaragua and am concerned about the future of my neighbors from Honduras. TPS is designed to protect people from being returned to harm and is extended based on country conditions. More than 300,000 of our neighbors are TPS holders. They contribute billions of dollars to our economy. Nearly 273,000 U.S. citizen children have a parent with TPS. Tearing apart families and devastating communities is immoral and wrong-headed. I urge [the Senator or Representative] to do everything she or he can to ensure that the administration reinstates TPS for Nicaragua; extends TPS for Honduras, El Salvador, and Haiti for at least another 18 months; and supports legislation that would ensure stability forTPS recipients who have lived here for many years."

DHS has yet to reach a decision on TPS for Haiti or El Salvador. Violence, weak institutions, and a lack of human rights protections in Central America, as well as food, housing, and public health crises in Haiti persist. As people of faith, we have an urgent call to stand with TPS holders and tell the administration to do everything they can to see TPS protections extended and pass a permanent legislative solution.

Here are 5 more ways you can take action!

1. Write & Share Press Releases Condemning Reports of TPS Terminations: Press releases increase public education and raise the public profile of why TPS is important to our communities. We encourage faith organizations to take a public stance condemning Nicaragua'sTPS termination, denouncing the cruelty in only a 6-month extension for Honduras, urging the administration to extend TPS designations for all TPS countries for at least 18 months, and calling on Congress to pass a permanent solution for TPS holders. For CWS's statement, please visit: interfaithimmigration.org/TPS.
2. Join the Prayer Chain and Share on Social Media: Record a video of yourself holding a printed, filled out #Faith4TPS sign. Upload your video to Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with the hashtag #Faith4TPS and tag the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (@interfaithimm). Don't forget to tweet at your Members of Congress and @realDonaldTrump. Click here for sample social media posts and here for graphics.
3. Plan #Faith4TPS Events: Host an interfaith vigil, educate your faith community, and organize other events to lift up the importance of TPS. Local actions are a great way to amplify voices ofTPS holders in the media, and don’t forget to invite your national, state, and local officials. Click here to view our Interfaith Toolkit to Defend TPS to learn more.
4. Write for Media: Elevate the public call by publishing a letter to the editor ASAP condemning the termination of TPS for Nicaragua, and reports of possible TPS terminations for Honduras, El Salvador, and Haiti, urging the administration to extend these designations for at least 18 months, and calling on Congress to pass a permanent solution for TPS holders. Click here for sample op-eds, LTEs, and other resources on how to pitch and place media pieces.
5. Learn and Share Resources: Visit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pU6pyPwbbdRdIo-QzOhh71Drj0_hmHaJjnGq7WIx2T0/edit for our Interfaith "Mini-Toolkit" to learn more.

For more information on our faithful call to stand with TPS holders, please visit: interfaithimmigration.org/TPS. Please spread the word, and thank you for all your work and support!

Thanks for your continued support of our immigrant neighbors and for whatever you and your communities can do to stop the administration’s attempts to disrupt our communities, separate families, and deport our friends.