In November, the federal government announced Temporary Protective Status (TPS) would end for residents from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, on January 26. Ahead of the deadline, Nicole Kurut, director of marketing for Catholic Charities, explains who is affected by this change and what’s next for them.
Let's start with the main crux of our conversation today, what exact is happening on January 26?
On January 26, TPS for Burmese nationals is being terminated by the US government.
Can you explain a little bit more about like, what temporary protective status is and how people received it in the first place?
Temporary protective status is just that. It's something that's temporary for people already in the United States. So let's use Burma as an example. People that were here, maybe as students, or they were already in the country working, and then in 2021 the military coup happens in Burma, and the government uses their discretionary humanitarian tool, which is TPS, and allows those people to stay in the country for a designated period. Now they can extend it or they can terminate it, like we see right now happening, but that's completely up to the government's decision, and if it's safe enough for people to return, the government did put in their decision that, because free elections are supposed to be held sometime this year in Burma, they felt like they could roll back TPS.
And how does this differ from the refugee resettlement program?
Great question. We get it a lot. The refugee resettlement program, though, it started back in 1980. It is a formal federal program, and it's federally funded. So, it also involves the UN. Before anyone can even apply for refugee status, the UN has to look at what's happening in that country and say, there's enough people being persecuted that we should extend this refugee status to people of that nationality. So, that is a refugee. Once they come into the country, they also have a refugee status that within a year, they can apply for their permanent residency, so they have a green card, and then they have a pathway to citizenship after several years if they choose to go that way. So they are here legally, and most of the Burmese living in our community have entered the country with that status.
What are you recommending to people who are unsure if they fall under this change or not?
If you're not sure if this affects you, you need to get a hold of your legal representation. It's very important to understand those differences. I think most people in the community know if they entered through the refugee program or TPS, but if you're not sure, please don't Google it. Please contact Catholic Charities or an immigration attorney.
And what's the expectation come January 26?
Technically, after January 26, that's when deportation orders can go into effect. We know in our community, at least by our estimates, this really won't affect very many people, in the grand scheme of how many Burmese nationals live in our area. We don't anticipate to see too many changes at the local level.
And are there any ways that the community can support people who are worried about losing their temporary protective status?
I think the best thing that you can do at this point is just educate yourself on those differences, because you never know when you're going to have to share that legal knowledge, we have specialists that are accredited through the Department of Justice just to do this immigration work, because it's so specialized, and it's important to know all of those details, and most importantly, show compassion. Everyone is born with dignity, and we should treat them with that dignity and compassion and just walking alongside them because we don't know what they're feeling.
