Good News for Venezuelans!
Will you help two young Venezuelans apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States?
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on September 20, 2023 that it is offering "Temporary Protected Status" (TPS) to any Venezuelan who can demonstrate that they have been physically present in the United States since July 31.
This gives Gabriela and Andrés (two Venezuelan migrants about whom I previously wrote here) a means to stabilize their immigration status, and apply for work permits, while they simultaneously seek asylum. Remember that they are still recovering from the trauma of leaving their homes, walking thousands of miles, suffering kidnapping and extortion and miscarriage, and trying to find a way to keep themselves alive in the United States while they apply for asylum. So gaining TPS will mean a lot to them.
But it costs money to apply for TPS, and for work authorization — more money than Gabriela and Andrés can come up with while they focus on the basics (paying for a roof over their head, buying food, and paying for the other bare necessities of life) without the legal ability to work.
Can you help me raise the funds for them to apply for TPS and work permits? They need a total of $1,090 to submit the necessary applications (Form I-821 to apply for TPS and Form I-765 to apply for work permits) and to pay the required biometrics fee.
Donate to the GoFundMe for Gabriela and Andrés here.
About TPS
Temporary protected status provides foreign nationals already present in the United States with protection from removal when the conditions in their home country prevent their safe return. DHS reviewed the current conditions in Venezuela, and determined that the country continues to suffer from “instability and lack of safety due to the enduring humanitarian, security, political, and environmental conditions.”
Accordingly, DHS has not only extended TPS for 18 months for Venezuelans who had already been granted the status (previously, TPS was only available to Venezuelans who had been physically present in the United States since on or before March 9, 2021), but has "redesignated" TPS (i.e., made it available for the first time) to Venezuelans who entered the United States on or before July 31, 2023.
By extending TPS to Venezuelans in the United States, the U.S. government is acknowledging that it is simply untenable for these people to return to the chaos from which they fled.
To answer some concerns some readers may have:
When TPS is newly made available to people from a certain country, it is commonly announced several weeks after any relevant cut-off date (in this case, July 31, 2023). Were the initiative to be announced in advance, the fear is that it would incentivize people to rush to cross the border — legally or illegally — in advance of the cut-off date.
Although Gabriela and Andrés are not "undocumented" (they were lawfully "paroled" into the United States by border officials in December 2022), TPS is also available to noncitizens who do not possess any lawful immigration status.
How TPS Will Help Gabriela and Andrés
In the case of Gabriela and Andrés, this means that while they will still seek asylum (which, if granted, would allow them to apply for permanent residence), they can obtain TPS in the meantime, which — though temporary — is a more stable status than parole (which has a specific end date). And historically, once the government extends TPS to a certain nationality, it rarely revokes it.
So please help me help them achieve stability in the United States while they try to build new lives here together.
Why Did I Create this GoFundMe?
If you've already given what you can, I'd be grateful if you would share this GoFundMe further. As a lawyer, I have never extended clients financial support (though of course I often provided legal services free of charge to indigent clients). But Gabriela and Andrés are not my clients. They are individuals who I have committed to help, not as a lawyer but as a concerned citizen who continues to care about immigrants.
The truth is, however, that I have already given them more money than I can really afford. So while I have personally reached the limit of what I can give, I hope to find other kind-hearted people who are looking for something they can do to help desperate immigrants.
This is something you can do.
If you’d like to help Gabriela and Andrés obtain TPS and work permits, please donate whatever you can at this link. Every dollar helps! This is a small but concrete way you can help support desperate migrants who seek nothing more than safety and security in the United States.