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 VOICE YOUR SUPPORT: TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR COLOMBIANS NOW!

 

 To: All Interested Parties

 

 From: Raul Yzaguirre, President & CEO, National Council of La Raza

 (NCLR);

 Leonard Glickman, President & CEO, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)

 

 Date: September 30, 2003

 

 Since 1985, violence in Colombia has led to the deaths of more than

 60,000 people and the displacement of millions of others. To help ease

 the plight of Colombians who have fled to the United States, please add

 your support by signing on to the attached letter to President Bush

 urging him to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Colombians.

 

 

 ACTION REQUESTED

 

 Please sign on to the attached letter by sending an email, including the

 name of your organization, the name and title of the person to be listed

 as the signatory, and the city and state in which your organization is

 located, to colombia@hias.org. Responses must be received by close of

 business on October 13, 2003.

 

 Please circulate this request among your networks and colleagues as we

 hope to have as many organizations signing on as possible in order to

 demonstrate to President Bush the extent of the support for Colombian

 TPS. Any questions should directed to Emily Spero Smith, Program

 Associate for HIAS Washington DC, at emily.spero.smith@hias.org, or

 Michele Waslin, Senior Immigration Policy Analyst for NCLR, at

 mwaslin@nclr.org.

 

 Thank you for your support of this important issue.

 

 

 BACKGROUND

 

 Because of direct threats to themselves or their families, Colombians

 have fled from their homeland and sought temporary refuge in the United

 States. Most live in Florida, New York, New Jersey, California,

 Illinois, Massachusetts, Georgia, and Texas, with others in virtually

 every state in the union. Many Colombians entered the United States

 legally on tourist visas but, because of the volatile situation in

 Colombia, have had to overstay. They are desperately afraid of being

 deported to Colombia and are in urgent need of temporary protection.

 

 Granting TPS to Colombians in the United States could provide this

 protection. TPS, created by Congress in 1990, empowers the Attorney

 General to designate a country for this status when he or she determines

 that ?there is an ongoing armed conflict within the state and, due to

 that conflict, return of nationals to that state would pose a serious

 threat to their personal safety.? Tens of thousands of Salvadorans,

 Liberians, Sierra Leoneans, and others from countries in conflict have

 benefited from this protection. Current estimates place the number of

 Colombians who would benefit from the TPS designation in the range of

 130,000.

 

 Most of the Colombians at risk are middle class families ? small

 businessmen, professionals, office workers, teachers, medical workers ?

 with limited means who are now forced to work in the informal economy to

 support themselves and their families. These families fall in the hands

 of unscrupulous employers who take advantage of their vulnerability.

 They did not leave for economic reasons. On the contrary, most came

 here knowing they would face greater economic hardships here than in

 Colombia.

 

 With thousands killed every year, hundreds of thousands displaced

 annually, and thousands of others kidnapped or subjected to extortion,

 Colombians should qualify for a TPS designation. This view is shared by

 the Colombian government, which has called for this type of protection

 for its citizens residing in the U.S. In a May 2, 2003 letter to

 President Bush, President Uribe requested that the U.S. grant TPS to

 Colombians. Colombians are in precisely the situation that Congress

 envisioned when it passed TPS as a humanitarian response to

 circumstances where people would be at risk if returned to their home

 countries.

 

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 September XX, 2003

 

 The Honorable George W. Bush

 The White House

 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

 Washington, DC 20500

 

 Dear President Bush:

 

 We are representatives of U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations,

 including faith-based groups, human rights organizations, humanitarian

 and relief groups, and others concerned with the victims of the conflict

 in Colombia. While President Alvaro Uribe has pledged to respond to

 violence, Colombians in cities, towns and rural areas continue to face

 an array of life-threatening dangers. We therefore are writing today to

 ask you to protect Colombians who have sought temporary refuge in the

 United States by designating them for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

 

 

 Colombians have fled their homeland because of direct threats to

 themselves or their families, or out of fear of becoming victims of the

 conflict or political violence there, and have sought safe haven in the

 United States. Most are in Florida, New York, New Jersey, California,

 Illinois, Massachusetts, Georgia, and Texas, but some are in virtually

 every state of the union. Many Colombians entered the United States

 legally on tourist visas but, because of the volatile situation in

 Colombia, have had to overstay. They are afraid of being deported to

 Colombia and the dangers they would face if they returned. They are in

 urgent need of temporary protection.

 

 The U.S. government has the means to provide them protection by

 designating Colombians for TPS. In 1990, Congress passed the TPS

 statute specifically designating individuals who fled the civil war in

 El Salvador, and creating broad-based authority for the Attorney General

 to designate a country for TPS when he or she determines that ?there is

 an ongoing armed conflict within the state and, due to that conflict,

 return of nationals to that state would pose a serious threat to their

 personal safety.? Additionally, victims of environmental disaster, as

 well as other temporary and extraordinary conditions, can be protected

 through a TPS designation. Since its inception, tens of thousands of

 Salvadorans, Liberians, Sierra Leoneans, and others from countries in

 conflict and turmoil have benefited from one or another form of TPS.

 

 In 2002, Amnesty International (AI) reported that ?Colombia's worsening

 internal armed conflict affects virtually every part of the country and

 has taken the lives of more than 60,000 people since 1985 ? currently

 around 20 people every day.? Further, AI asserts that of those killed,

 ?80% were civilians, playing no part in the hostilities.? According to

 a report from the U.S. Department of State, there are approximately

 3,000 kidnappings per year.

 

 The violence in Colombia stretches across the country, from rural towns

 to large cities. Among the most dramatic examples of the violence that

 fuels the fears of Colombians who have sought safe haven in the United

 States include the following: on August 8, 2002, 15 people were killed

 and 40 injured by an explosion in Bogot?, just moments before President

 Uribe?s inauguration. On December 14, 2002, 31 people were killed when

 a bomb exploded in a Bogot? hotel. On May 5, 2003, ten prisoners

 kidnapped by FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) were

 executed. On September 28, 2003, ten people were killed by an

 explosion in a nightclub in the town of Florencia.

 

 In 2002, 37% of Colombian asylum applicants were approved. While asylum

 has provided relief for some, a great many other Colombians currently

 face deportation and repatriation to a country where widespread violence

 and impunity dominate. TPS was designed to offer protection from just

 this sort of generalized violence. Current estimates place the number

 of Colombians who would benefit from TPS in the range of 130,000.

 

 With thousands killed every year, hundreds of thousands displaced

 annually, and thousands of others kidnapped or subjected to extortion,

 we believe Colombia qualifies for a TPS designation. A view shared by

 the Colombian government, which has called for this type of protection

 for its citizens residing in the U.S. In a May 2, 2003 letter to

 President Bush, President Uribe requested that the U.S. grant TPS to

 Colombians. Colombians are in precisely the situation Congress

 envisioned when it passed TPS as a humanitarian response to people in

 the United States who would be at risk if returned to their countries.

 

 The State Department has long designated the guerilla groups FARC and

 ELN (National Liberation Army) as terrorist organizations; in October

 2001, added the paramilitary group AUC (United Self-Defense Forces of

 Colombia) to this list. The activities of these groups threaten the

 Colombians who have fled to the U.S. As the leader of the struggle

 against terrorism, we firmly believe that our country should protect

 these victims of violence. Granting TPS to Colombians would be an

 important step in the Administration?s global fight against terror and

 terrorism.

 

 Thank you for considering our views on this critical humanitarian issue.

 

 

 Sincerely,