Courtney Bourgoin, courtney.bourgoin@sierraclub.org, (202) 495-3022
Washington, DC -- President Trump recently announced the end of protections for Liberians seeking asylum in the United States and granted stay by Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama.
The move comes after similar terminations of Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan. The decision is the latest in the anti-immigrant agenda Trump has been driving. The Sierra Club supports Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-MN) Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 2018 (HR 5072), which would grant justice and a path to citizenship for those most recently targeted by Trump.
In response, Sierra Club Director of Strategic Partnerships Hop Hopkins released the following statement:
“Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is fueling an inhumane, false narrative about people seeking asylum. Liberian Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders have created lives for themselves and their families in the United States-- free from the danger of war-- but now they’re being told to pack up and leave.
“Trump has ended DACA, TPS, and now DED protections as part of his unprecedented attack on American immigrants. All these actions - from the deportation of innocent people, tearing apart communities and families to the militarization of our border - undermine the deepest freedoms and values we hold dear in the United States. . Trump has shown he will ignore fundamental environmental and health laws and separate families to advance his xenophobic agenda.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.