‘Travesty’: Immigration advocates accuse Biden administration of TPS double standard on immigrants of color
The Biden administration granted temporary protected status for Ukrainian refugees in a week. It took months to grant Afghanistan refugees TPS status. That's prompted accusations of a double standard.
WASHINGTON – Nearly seven months after the United States evacuated Afghanistan, the Biden administration Wednesday granted protection from deportation for Afghan refugees living in the United States.
The administration’s announcement that it would provide "temporary protected status," or TPS, for Afghans came weeks after the Department of Homeland Security granted the same protections for Ukrainians living in the United States.
Critics point to a double standard: Refugees from Ukraine received TPS status in a just one week while it took months for those fleeing Afghanistan to receive the designation.
Some immigration advocates and Democratic lawmakers are slamming the Biden administration for its quick response to offer deportation protections for Ukrainians while seemingly dragging its feet on offering the same protections for majority Black and brown countries, including Cameroon where armed conflict in the country has grown in the past years.
“We clearly see when it comes to people for Europe, it only took them a couple of days to decide to provide protection for Ukraine,” said Guerline Jozef, president of the Haitian Bridge Alliance. “It clearly shows that when it comes to Black people, we always have to push through to validate our humanity.”
Immigration advocates and some Democratic lawmakers are putting pressure on the White House to offer protections from deportations swiftly for several African countries.
More: Biden administration grants TPS for Afghanistan, protecting refugees from deportation
“It is critical that TPS is not politicized to preference some countries over others,” Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said in a statement Wednesday, where he added that he is “troubled” that TPS has not been granted for Cameroon and Ethiopia.
“As I have said before, Black migrants are too often excluded when these important decisions are made,” Menendez said. “I will continue to urge the Biden administration to utilize TPS for countries experiencing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary conditions that prevent people from safely returning home.”
What is TPS?
Temporary protected status is designated by DHS to non-Americans whose home countries are experiencing armed conflict, environmental disaster or other extraordinary conditions that would prevent citizens from returning safely.
DHS has granted TPS to several nations, including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Venezuela and Haiti. The designation ends for several of these countries later this year and the administration has not indicated whether they will extend the TPS designation to any of these countries.
While TPS offers protection from deportation and allows individuals who qualify the ability to work in the United States, it does not provide a pathway to citizenship.
More: Staying could mean death. The escape nearly killed her. How one woman fled Afghanistan for freedom.
Refugee resettlement officials and immigration advocates have been calling for better protections against deportation for Afghan refugees, many who came on humanitarian parole. While immigration rights advocates praised DHS for finally granting TPS to Afghanistan, some questioned why it took so long and want more done, including granting a pathway to citizenship.
"We helped evacuate people of that country when the Taliban completely took over," said Jennifer Quigley, senior director of government affairs at Human Rights First. "Why did we not get a TPS designation in August or September? Why did it take seven months to get that designation."
Advocates, Democrats call for TPS for Cameroon
Jozef said immigration advocates started lobbying to get a TPS designation for Cameroon weeks before Biden took office.
There has been civil conflict in the African country caused by the Anglophone Crisis that began in late 2016. In addition, the rise of Boko Haram and intertribal conflicts have contributed to rising fears among Cameroonians of their well-being in their home country.
The Center for American Progress estimates there are up to 40,000 Cameroonians living in the United States who are either undocumented, on temporary visas or lawful permanent residents.
Quigley said there are several African countries, like Cameroon, that qualify for TPS under a legal standard. She noted that if it’s not safe to return nationals to their home countries, then “they need the safety and protection here in the United States.”
“It's very important that we follow the law, we follow the legal standards, and we offer that protection,” she said. “It's not happening for these majority black majority brown countries. And that's a travesty.”
Dozens of immigration rights groups called for the Biden administration to grant TPS for Ukraine and celebrated the administration’s decision to do so. There are approximately 30,000 Ukrainian nationals in the United States who qualify for TPS. Thousands more Ukrainian refugees might soon be arriving here as the Russian invasion rolls into its fourth week — creating a new challenge for the administration who said they are looking for ways to help Ukrainians who want to come to the U.S.
However, some advocates said it was also discouraging to see how quickly the administration was able to grant TPS to Ukraine, while still refusing to grant the same protections for Cameroon or other African countries.
“It becomes frustrating when you have to do this much advocacy, to protect people who are here from certain countries. But then when something happens in another country with people who look a little bit different … that was just so, so simple,” Diana Konaté, policy director for African Communities Together, an immigrant rights organization, said of granting TPS to Ukraine.
“We're just hoping that moving forward, the administration really has the same energy that they've shown towards Ukraine,” she added.
‘Moving as the urgency so warrants’
The Biden administration pushed back against criticisms that the department is employing a double standard.
Mayorkas told reporters during an online news conference Thursday that footage from Ukraine showing the bombing of major cities and the destruction of hospitals and centers where children are housed illustrated the need for urgent action.
More: Escaping two wars in six months. Afghan refugees in Ukraine forced to flee terror all over again.
“I think we are extraordinarily adept as an administration in meeting the urgency of the moment,” Mayorkas told reporters. “We met the moment with the speed we thought it deserved.”
He said the program required an analysis of conditions in foreign countries and the duration the status might be required. He said the department also acted with historic speed to resettle 83,000 Afghans in 60 days last year, after the Taliban regained control of that country.
“We think we’ve been moving as the urgency so warrants and we will continue to do so,” Mayorkas said.
Contributing: Bart Jansen
Reach Rebecca Morin at Twitter @RebeccaMorin_