Last-minute deportation suspension for Liberians in the United States



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Last-minute deportation suspension for Liberians in the United States

Liberians living in the United States have received good news from Washington this week. The scheduled departure for forced application (DED) would be extended for one year, thus deferring the trauma and chaos of expulsion scheduled for late March.

The threat of securing protected status has sparked opposition and protests from several prominent US lawmakers, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, human rights defenders, human rights defenders and human rights activists. Liberians everywhere in America.

A decree signed this week by the president indicated that, although the situation in Liberia "had improved and did not warrant further extension" of protected status, the interests of US foreign policy warranted a orderly transition to Liberian beneficiaries.

"The overall situation in West Africa remains a concern," he wrote, "and Liberia is an important regional partner for the United States. The reintegration of DDC beneficiaries into Liberian civil and political life will be a complex task, and an unsuccessful transition could weigh on US-Liberian relations and jeopardize Liberia's post-civil war progress towards democracy and democracy. political stability. "

Hennepin County, Minnesota, home to Minneapolis, has the largest number of Liberians – about 8,285 – in all counties in the country. About 35,000 Liberians live in this state.

The Trump administration has already announced its intention to end two other well-known immigration programs, namely deferred action for child arrivals and temporary protection status for Salvadorans and Haitians, as well as the inhabitants of Nicaragua and Sudan.

Liberians began to make big waves from 1989, when the country has experienced nearly fifteen years of civil wars. These conflicts killed an estimated 250,000 people, displaced more than one million and left the country with poor infrastructure and an 80 percent unemployment rate.

Forced to flee for their safety and economic survival, many Liberians came to the United States and obtained protected immigration status called Forced and Deferred Departure.

Linda Clark's story stands out in a series of profiles from St Paul's Minneapolis Magazine. After working in Liberia for a full year without pay, she traveled to the United States, leaving behind a husband and a 2-year-old son. "I had the idea of ​​a better life for my family," she recalls. "I want my son to go to school. He is 20 years old and still in the 11th grade, losing a year due to the Ebola pandemic. "

Watching the children of friends graduate, she felt sad. "I'm happy for them, but yes. My son, he could be the same, you know?

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