NJ Assembly Democrats News Release: Assembly Panel Approves Bill To Urge TPS for Filipinos

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Assembly Panel Approves Johnson, Eustace & Chivukula Bill to Urge Temporary Protected Status for Filipino Nationals in Wake of Typhoon Haiyan (TRENTON) - An Assembly panel recently approved a measure sponsored by Assembly Democrats Gordon M. Johnson, Timothy Eustace and Upendra J. Chivukula to urge the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to grant temporary protected status to visitors from the Philippines following the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan. On Friday, November 8th, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded on land, hit the Philippines, bringing sustained winds of 147 mph and waves as high as 45 ft. An estimated 6.9 million people have been affected by the storm, and the death toll is estimated to be in the thousands while the number of people displaced by the massive storm rises into the hundreds of thousands. "Typhoon Haiyan has left most of the Philippines ravaged," said Johnson (D-Bergen). "This indeed is a situation that would warrant a suspension of deportation for Philippine nationals." "Many residents in Bergen have been directly affected by what has happened in the Philippines," said Eustace (D-Bergen, Passaic). "With family and friends still there, many Filipinos desire to help their country by remaining here to work. Temporary protected status for Philippine nationals is an important humanitarian gesture that should be granted by the U.S." "Many Filipinos have lost everything," said Chivukula (Middlesex, Somerset). "Deportation possibly puts more lives at risk. The United States prides itself through its humanitarian work all over the world and temporarily ceasing the process would be of great help to some citizens of the Philippines." The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may designate a country, or portions of a country, for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) when conditions exist such as an ongoing armed conflict or an environmental disaster in the country that temporarily prevents the country's nationals from returning safely. The measure (AR-207) respectfully urges the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to grant TPS to the Philippines in order to allow nationals residing in the United States temporary relief from possible deportation or removal proceedings. If the United States grants the request, the Philippines will join El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Honduras that were placed under TPS after experiencing similar natural disasters. The Assembly resolution was released by the Assembly State Government Committee on December 16.

Department of Foreign Affairs : Philippines asks U.S. to designate the country under Temporary Protected Status

Statement from the DFA: PH asks U.S. to designate the country under Temporary Protected Status

Published: December 16, 2013. Latest update: December 16..., 2013 4:35 pm.
Statement of Assistant Secretary Raul S. Hernandez: On the Temporary Protected Status issue

The Philippines has formally requested the United States Government on Friday, December 13, to designate the country under Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario said that placing the Philippines under TPS will allow eligible Filipinos to stay and work in the US in order for them to assist in the country’s continuing recovery efforts after Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) devastated Central Visayas last month, killing more than 6,000 people and affecting more than 16 million.

The request will be evaluated first by US authorities and may take some time. If approved, eligible Filipinos can start filing their applications which will be reviewed on a case-to-case basis.

If this request is granted, the Philippines will join four other countries – El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Honduras – that were placed under TPS after going through similar natural disasters.

The said request was officially conveyed by Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. to the Department of Homeland Security through a Note Verbale sent to the US Department of State.

http://www.gov.ph/2013/12/16/statement-the-dfa-spokesperson-on-the-temporary-protected-status-tps-issue/

--- WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Philippines has formally requested Washington for additional immigration relief measures to allow eligible Filipinos to stay and work in the United States so they could support the country’s long-term post-typhoon recovery efforts, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced Monday, 16 December.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario said the request to designate the Philippines under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was officially conveyed on Friday, 13 December, by Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. to the Department of Homeland Security through a note verbale to the Department of State.

“Recognizing the intense desire of the Filipino-American Community to more effectively assist victims, we would like to formally request that eligible Filipino nationals in the US be granted Temporary Protected Status under Section 244 of the US Immigration and Nationality Act,” said the letter signed by Ambassador Cuisia and addressed to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Rand Beers.

The request was made in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000  people; displaced more than 4 million and affected more than 12 million during its violent rampage across the Central Philippines last month.

More than 200 Filipino-American organizations across the US, backed by members of the US Senate and House of Representatives, the Catholic Church and other NGOs have requested for the additional immigration relief measures that a TPS designation would be able to provide to Filipinos.

Secretary Del Rosario said if the request is granted, the Philippines will join four other countries that were placed under TPS after going through similar natural catastrophes. These are El Salvador and Haiti after these were devastated by earthquakes in 2001 and 2010 respectively and Nicaragua and Honduras after they were affected by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

Ambassador Cuisia said the Embassy has also been in discussions with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State and the DFA in Manila since the TPS was first brought to his attention a few days after Haiyan struck the country.

Ambassador Cuisia said the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Consulates General in

New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and Agana made the recommendation to Secretary Del Rosario during their annual conference in Washington, D.C. last week and after extensive consultations with leaders of the Filipino Community in their respective jurisdictions.

Ambassador Cuisia explained that a TPS designation for the Philippines would allow eligible Filipinos currently in the US to support the long-term relief and rehabilitation efforts in the country because they could be given temporary authorization to stay and work for a limited period.

He said the request will have to first be evaluated by US authorities and may take some time. If approved, eligible Filipinos can start filing their applications, which will be reviewed on a case-to-case basis.

He said that in addition to TPS, Filipinos already in the US can also take advantage of the immigration breaks announced by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service on 15 November of which some Filipinos have already availed themselves.

Source: Embassy of the Philippines

 

PH Seeks Protected Status For Filipinos in the US due to Yolanda

PH seeks protected status for Filipinos in the US due to Yolanda

By: Eric Apolonio, InterAksyon.com
December 16, 2013 5:12 PM

InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines - Following the deaths and destruction caused by super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the Philippines formally requested the U.S. government to place the country under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday. 

The TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to foreigners in the U.S. who are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.

If a country is placed under TPS, its eligible citizens may stay and work in the U.S.

A TPS does not, however, lead to a beneficiary’s permanent resident status. If the U.S. government terminates the TPS, beneficiaries would revert to the same immigration status they had before TPS.

Placing the Philippines under TPS will allow eligible Filipinos to stay and work in the U.S. "in order for them to assist in the country's continuing recovery efforts," following the typhoon killing over 6,000 and affecting 16 million Filipinos, the DFA said. 

The request will be evaluated first by US authorities. "If approved, eligible Filipinos can start filing their applications which will be reviewed on a case-to-case basis, the DFA said. 

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. conveyed the request on December 13 to the Department of Homeland Security through a note verbale sent to the U.S. Department of State.     

If the request is granted, the Philippines will join four other countries - El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Honduras – that were placed under TPS after going through similar natural disasters.

Spearheading the drive for the Philippines to be placed under TPS are Filipino community leaders based in New York headed by lawyer JT Mallonga of the Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc. and Ed Navarra, chairman of National Federation of Filipino-American Association. 

Earlier Mallonga told newsman that” while we are prepared to exhaust all means to get this to the attention of the President; time is certainly of the essence."  

"(T)his is neither a legal nor a political issue, but a humanitarian one and we hope that our President will act swiftly on this request from literally almost a million Filipinos in the U.S.," added Mallonga. 

 

Source: http://www.interaksyon.com/article/76927/ph-seeks-protected-status-for-filipinos-in-the-us-due-to-yolanda

UNTV Interview: Temporary Protected Status for Filipino Americans