U.S COMMITTEE FOR REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS
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USCRI welcomes decision to extend and redesignate TPS for Burma

March 22, 2024

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) welcomes today’s decision by the Biden administration to extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burma (Myanmar) for 18 months as well as Special Student Relief (SSR) for F-1 nonimmigrant students whose country of citizenship is Myanmar. The redesignation will protect approximately 9,000 individuals who entered the United States since the military coup in 2021.

In a letter dated March 15, 2024, USCRI, TPS-DED Administrative Advocacy CoalitionFortify RightsCommunities United for Status and Protection, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice were joined by over 100 organizations calling on the administration to extend and redesignate TPS for Burma for 18 months. The letter detailed how ongoing armed conflict between the military junta and ethnic armed organizations, the deliberate targeting of civilians, and conscription make the safe return of citizens of Myanmar in the United States to their home country impossible.

“We are pleased with the Administration’s decision to provide an 18-month TPS extension, redesignation, and SSR for Myanmar. With conditions so dire in Myanmar, this announcement brings enormous relief,” said USCRI President and CEO Eskinder Negash. “At a time when politics are often prioritized over humanitarian relief, it is commendable to see the Administration uphold its commitments to the people of Myanmar and prioritize protection.”

USCRI looks forward to the timely publication of a Federal Register Notice, a public information campaign to notify the impacted community of the decision, and prompt adjudication of pending TPS applications.

“Providing TPS should not rest on a premise of protection for some but not for all,” added Negash. “There is an urgent need to protect populations who have fled conflict, climate disasters, and other extraordinary conditions and found safety in the United States. We call on the Biden administration to immediately extend and redesignate TPS for Haiti, as well as grant TPS to countries that have long awaited a designation, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, Mali, and Mauritania.”

 

USCRI, founded in 1911, is a non-governmental, not-for-profit international organization committed to working on behalf of refugees and immigrants and their transition to a dignified life.

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