Monrovia – Liberia’s opposition Liberty Party has added its voice to the many calling for United States President Donald Trump to extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Liberians living in the US, while calling on Washington to “Create a pathway” that will keep affected families together.
“We join the distinguished Senators from Minnesota and Rhode Island (Senators Amy Klobuchar, Jack Reed, and Senator Sheldon White House, respectively), and other US Senators and Congress Persons, advocates and Liberians, the world over, in asking President Trump to spare our citizens deportation,” the Party said in a statement on Sunday, 25 March.
In the statement, LP recalled the long-standing ties between Liberia and the US, which dates back to the foundation of the West African nation and the strides Liberia has made to support the United States interest.
“We (Liberia) have stood with America in difficult times during World War II, when Liberia was used as a conduit to supply American troops fighting in North Africa because German U-boats dominated and blocked the North Atlantic,” the statement said.
“We stood with America during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. And like family, our country supported the United States in all its efforts at the United Nations.
“It is based on this sacred bond of friendship that Liberty Party pleas with President Trump and the government, and people of the United States of America.”
The party plea adds to massive calls for President Trump to extend the TPS for Liberian that risk being deported following the end of a March 31 deadline.
In an effort to draw Trump’s attention to the situation, a solidarity rally is planned for Monday, 26 March.
An internal memo obtained by FrontPageAfrica suggests that despite strong diplomatic and legislative push in the U.S. Congress, behind the scenes efforts are underway to prepare Liberians to return home.
The Liberian government has so far not yet made any comment on the matter as to what plans it has in place to prepare for Liberians on the verge of returning home.
Meanwhile, the Liberty Party says it made frantic efforts in the past to plea the case of Liberians who are now at risk of being deported.
“In March 2017, Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine, the Out-going Political Leader of Liberty Party, traveled to the United States and met with U.S. Congressman Charles Dent of Pennsylvania, State Department and other congressional staffers to plea the case for Liberians facing deportation,” the party said.
The party added that its political leader, at the time, stressed that the “socio-economic climate in Liberia was not capable of receiving thousands of Liberians”.
“The high unemployment rate in the country, coupled with poor healthcare and education make Liberia unprepared for such an exposure,” Cllr. Brumskin was quoted as saying, adding, “Mass deportation of Liberians to Liberia could worsen the already poor conditions in the country”.
“If the Trump administration fails to extend the DED deadline for Liberians, hundreds of Liberian-American families could be separated and uprooted from their jobs, and homes, and force to return to a country that is unrecognizable to them. “
“Moreover, it is at best unclear how Liberia’s recovery could be affected by a sudden and unexpected inflow of new comers from the United States,” added Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
The Senator has been pushing for the extension of the TPS for Liberians, which will avert the mass deportation.
“At the very least the Trump administration should extend DED for this population for three additional years while congress debates the path forward on comprehensive,” Klobuchar added.
In the statement, Liberty party also cautioned that any mass deportation would also have “emotional impacts to children of deportees born in the US, many of whom could be separated from their parents upon deportation”.
“Liberians currently under protective status have worked very hard to add value to the American society as well as their homeland in Liberia.”
“They own properties, pay taxes, conduct community engagements and contribute to the socio-economic engine of the United States,” the party added.
It acknowledged the efforts of US Senator Klobuchar, who through his advocacy for Liberians recently said, “Many of these people (Liberians) are business owners. They are teachers. They are healthcare workers. “
“According to one organization, nearly 40 percent of Liberians in Minnesota work in our nursing homes as nursing assistants and other support staff.”
“Also call on my colleagues to take up and pass the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act which I have offered in some form for as long as I’ve served in this body to end nearly 30 years of uncertainty by finally given these Liberians the opportunity to apply for permanent residency and a pathway to citizenship.”
Continued Senator Klobuchar: “In my year, with each year that has passed since the first of these Liberians arrived, the case has grown stronger that they should have the option to adjust the status and remain in the communities where they’ve made their homes and raised their families.
“We’ve long since reached the point where simple gesture requires that Congress extend this option to these Liberians. Congress has, on several occasions, granted temporary residents the opportunity to apply for permanent residency when their stay in the United States were prolonged by dangerous conditions in their home countries.”
The opposition Liberian political party sees the advocacy of the Minnesota Congressman as a solid defense for Liberians in the U.S. and it is however hopeful that its plea, and those of all friends of Liberia, advocates and impacted families, will be heard by the Trump administration.
“We call on Liberians to be prayerful, knowing that with God, all things are possible. May God bless the United States of America and may God bless the Republic of Liberia,” the statement concludes.