Guidelines for Press Releases for Administration's Failure to Make a TPS Decision on Time

• By law, the administration must determine whether or not to extend or terminate TPS by set dates. TPS can be designated in 6, 12, or 18-month increments.
• Visit CLINIC’s TPS webpage for a full list of countries and decision dates.
• The administration was 5 weeks late in delivering an official decision on Sudan, which was required by Sept. 5, 2017. Official decisions must be published in the Federal Register.
• Delays like this cause families already facing separation and the possibility of returning to life-threatening conditions in their home countries additional pain and anguish.
• People of faith object to this needless cruelty and call on the administration to follow the law and make timely announcements on TPS.

Press Release Template for Administration’s Failure to Make a TPS Decision on Time:

Headline: [Faith organization calls on the administration to make TPS announcement on time and not leave vulnerable people in limbo]

[FAITH ORGANIZATION] is dismayed by the Trump administration’s failure to issue a decision on whether or not it will extend Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for [COUNTRY] by the [INSERT DATE] deadline, as set by law. TPS holders are already living in fear that their families will be ripped apart and they will be sent back to a country where their lives are at stake. In addition to extending TPS for 18 months for [COUNTRY] because country conditions remain unsafe, the administration should be timely in delivering decisions for families that carry such serious and life-altering consequences.

[INSERT QUOTE FROM LEADER OF YOUR ORGANIZATION describing country conditions--check recent reports from the United Nations or International Office of Migration--and state that returning people to those conditions is a violation of American, moral, and faith values. Also describe the anguish families must feel not receiving timely information from the administration.]

[INSERT QUOTE FROM TPS HOLDER or family member of TPS holder in your congregation or community and what it means to be in fear of being forced to leave the U.S. and return to unsafe conditions. Also describe the impact of not receiving decisions from the administration when required.]

[INSERT QUOTE FROM LEADER OF YOUR ORGANIZATION about concern with breaking up families and removing people from their communities, congregations and jobs. End by 1) calling on the administration to grant 18-month extensions for all countries where TPS holders would be at risk if returned and 2) calling on Congress to act to provide a permanent solution for TPS holders who have been in the U.S. for many years because their countries have been unsafe for many years.]