Washington Center for Human Rights applauds the Biden Administration’s designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukrainian nationals and reiterates requests for TPS for people of Cameroon, Mauritania, and other non-European nations.
Human rights and immigrant rights organizations have frequently sought for TPS designations for various African, Central American, and Asian countries that fit the legislative criteria. More than a year ago, Human Rights First and 164 other organizations urged the Biden Administration to grant TPS to Mauritania. Human rights groups have frequently encouraged the Biden administration to grant TPS to Cameroon; recently, our colleagues at Human Rights Watch published a study detailing the damages suffered by Cameroonian asylum seekers deported by US authorities upon their return to Cameroon.
We applaud the Biden administration’s quick move to safeguard Ukrainians in the United States from being forced to return to a war-torn Ukraine. While the administration moved quickly to ensure the safety of Ukrainians living in the United States following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attacks on their country, it has lagged in protecting citizens of Cameroon, Mauritania, Guatemala, Honduras, and other countries suffering from armed conflict and environmental disasters from deportation.
Without delay, the United States must provide the same degree of security and safety to people from Africa, Central America, and Asia as it does to Europeans.