Thursday, January 20, 2011
Bill seeking TPS status for undocumented Pakistanis reintroduced in U.S. Congress
A bill seeking Temporary Protected Status for thousands of undocumented Pakistanis in the United States was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on January 12. Pakistani Temporary Protected Status Act of 2011, introduced by Al Green, a Democratic Congressman from Houston, TX, has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
The bill says last year's floods in Pakistan, which inundated 62,000 square miles of its area, killed almost 2,000 people and significantly damaged the infrastructure, qualifies Pakistan to be designated for the TPS. Under the proposed legislation, applicants would be eligible for TPS if they had been continuously physically present in the United States since July 22, 2010, which is the date when the floods began.
The bill says last year's floods in Pakistan, which inundated 62,000 square miles of its area, killed almost 2,000 people and significantly damaged the infrastructure, qualifies Pakistan to be designated for the TPS. Under the proposed legislation, applicants would be eligible for TPS if they had been continuously physically present in the United States since July 22, 2010, which is the date when the floods began.
"Concerns are growing about the enduring toll of the disaster on Pakistan's overall economy, food supply, and political stability," says the text of the Bill. "Granting temporary protected status to nationals of Pakistan is consistent with the interests of the United States and promotes the values and morals that have made the United States strong," it goes on to say. If approved, the bill will grant TPS to undocumented Pakistanis for 12 months.
A similar bill introduced by Al Green last year lapsed in the 111th Congress, disappointing thousands of undocumented Pakistanis across the United States.
"The people of Pakistan have suffered a very traumatic tragedy and I think providing this TPS is necessary to help them attain a sense of stability in the United States while their country recovers. Furthermore, Pakistan is our military ally, as well as an important trade partner and I believe those are also factors which reinforce the merit of this bill," Al Green had said in comments posted on his website after he introduced the bill in Congress for the first time last year. Al Green's Houston, TX, constituency has a sizeable population of Pakistani immigrants.
Temporary protected status (TPS) is an immigration status for foreign nationals residing in the United States whose home countries are temporarily unsafe or overly dangerous. Situations that can make a country unsafe and lead to temporary protected status include: wars, political turmoil, earthquakes, floods, or other natural disasters.
The TPS Action Committee, a body of Pakistani community activists that has been running a consistent campaign for the past several months, is apprehensive about the latest legislative move in Congress. "We feel that legislation is unnecessary for designating Pakistan as TPS country," Saleem Rizvi, a leading attorney and chairman of the Committee, told NYCMA. He explained that legislation was needed to tackle certain issues only when there were no relevant laws. "Here the laws – both substantive and procedural – to designate Pakistan as TPS country are available," he added.
Furthermore, the TPS Action Committee questions the prospects for passage of HR 285 in Congress, which does not enjoy bipartisan support. The current bill has not been co-sponsored by any other member of Congress whereas the one Al Green introduced in December was co-sponsored by eight Democrats. For some Action Committee members, the latest bill is a waste of time because it stands little chance of a congressional approval.
Rizvi sounded these apprehensions saying that the bill could face serious challenges in the House Judiciary committee headed by Congressman Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas, who is often accused of promoting an anti-immigrant agenda.
The Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with U.S. Department of State and other agencies, can issue a notification designating TPS status to a country. Under section 244(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the DHS Secretary is authorized to designate a foreign state for TPS or parts of such state upon finding that such state is experiencing ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or "extraordinary and temporary conditions.''
A similar bill introduced by Al Green last year lapsed in the 111th Congress, disappointing thousands of undocumented Pakistanis across the United States.
"The people of Pakistan have suffered a very traumatic tragedy and I think providing this TPS is necessary to help them attain a sense of stability in the United States while their country recovers. Furthermore, Pakistan is our military ally, as well as an important trade partner and I believe those are also factors which reinforce the merit of this bill," Al Green had said in comments posted on his website after he introduced the bill in Congress for the first time last year. Al Green's Houston, TX, constituency has a sizeable population of Pakistani immigrants.
Temporary protected status (TPS) is an immigration status for foreign nationals residing in the United States whose home countries are temporarily unsafe or overly dangerous. Situations that can make a country unsafe and lead to temporary protected status include: wars, political turmoil, earthquakes, floods, or other natural disasters.
The TPS Action Committee, a body of Pakistani community activists that has been running a consistent campaign for the past several months, is apprehensive about the latest legislative move in Congress. "We feel that legislation is unnecessary for designating Pakistan as TPS country," Saleem Rizvi, a leading attorney and chairman of the Committee, told NYCMA. He explained that legislation was needed to tackle certain issues only when there were no relevant laws. "Here the laws – both substantive and procedural – to designate Pakistan as TPS country are available," he added.
Furthermore, the TPS Action Committee questions the prospects for passage of HR 285 in Congress, which does not enjoy bipartisan support. The current bill has not been co-sponsored by any other member of Congress whereas the one Al Green introduced in December was co-sponsored by eight Democrats. For some Action Committee members, the latest bill is a waste of time because it stands little chance of a congressional approval.
Rizvi sounded these apprehensions saying that the bill could face serious challenges in the House Judiciary committee headed by Congressman Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas, who is often accused of promoting an anti-immigrant agenda.
The Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with U.S. Department of State and other agencies, can issue a notification designating TPS status to a country. Under section 244(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the DHS Secretary is authorized to designate a foreign state for TPS or parts of such state upon finding that such state is experiencing ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or "extraordinary and temporary conditions.''
The request for TPS usually comes from a foreign government hit by natural calamities that feels that they fulfill the criteria for the status. However, Pakistani community leaders are not sure if such a request has formally been made by the Pakistan government.
"We have been verbally informed by the Pakistani government officials that the request has been made," Saleem Rizvi said. However, he added it was unclear as to how the Pakistani government made the formal request and the response by the Obama Administration.
To date, the Obama Administration hasn't responded publicly to the Pakistani demand, but there are indications that the reception so far has been lukewarm. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not react to Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's demand for TPS for Pakistan during their joint press conference in Washington D.C. last October.
The TPS Action Committee says it is determined to keep pressing for its demand to designate Pakistan under existing law for TPS and will expand its campaign during the upcoming official visit of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to the United States. The committee organized protests in four cities on January 15 to coincide with Zardari's four-day private visit to the U.S. Its supporters staged pro-TPS rallies in front of Pakistani consulates in New York, Chicago, Houston and embassy in Washington DC, where community activists demanded that Islamabad press the Obama administration on the TPS issue.
No authentic figures are available about the exact number of undocumented Pakistanis in the US but TPS Committee Chairman believes that the figure could be as high as 100,000. Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, and Sudan are countries currently designated for TPS.
"We have been verbally informed by the Pakistani government officials that the request has been made," Saleem Rizvi said. However, he added it was unclear as to how the Pakistani government made the formal request and the response by the Obama Administration.
To date, the Obama Administration hasn't responded publicly to the Pakistani demand, but there are indications that the reception so far has been lukewarm. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not react to Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's demand for TPS for Pakistan during their joint press conference in Washington D.C. last October.
The TPS Action Committee says it is determined to keep pressing for its demand to designate Pakistan under existing law for TPS and will expand its campaign during the upcoming official visit of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to the United States. The committee organized protests in four cities on January 15 to coincide with Zardari's four-day private visit to the U.S. Its supporters staged pro-TPS rallies in front of Pakistani consulates in New York, Chicago, Houston and embassy in Washington DC, where community activists demanded that Islamabad press the Obama administration on the TPS issue.
No authentic figures are available about the exact number of undocumented Pakistanis in the US but TPS Committee Chairman believes that the figure could be as high as 100,000. Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, and Sudan are countries currently designated for TPS.
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