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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,