SAN Appeals
to President Bush to Grant Temporary Protected
Status to Non-Resident Pakistanis
The South Asian Network (SAN), a
grassroots community-based organization dedicated
to advancing the health, empowerment and solidarity
of people of South Asian origin, has called upon
President George W. Bush to direct the Secretary
of Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff
to grant Temporary Protected Status to non-resident
Pakistanis in the United States…
SAN strongly suggests that all community members
call President Bush at 202-456-1111 between 9
am and 5 pm E.S.T. (6 am to 2 pm Pacific time)
and ask him to please direct Department of Homeland
Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to put an
immediate halt to deportations and grant Temporary
Protected Status (TPS) to non-resident Pakistanis
in the United States.
For full details please read the letter of Mr
Hamid Khan, Executive Director, SAN addressed
to President Bush:
Honorable President Bush:
I write to you today with deep concern
for immigrants from Pakistan … We have effectively
served and advocated for South Asians in the areas
of health care, consumer protection, employment
and housing discrimination, hate crimes, domestic
violence and immigration. But never before has
their need for help been so dire.
Many immigrants from Pakistan currently in the
United States, including myself, have witnessed
their homeland destroyed by the massive earthquake
that hit on October 8, 2005. These people now
find themselves utterly disconnected from their
families and homeland, and in many cases have
no home, no job, and no one left to go home to.
In addition to the invaluable monetary and material
aid being sent to the earthquake affected region,
I urge the Department of Homeland Security to
create public policy relief for Pakistanis here
in the United States. One viable and proven form
of relief is Temporary Protected Status - TPS,
a procedure established by Congress in 1990, as
part of the Immigration Act of 1990 (“IMMACT”),
P.L. 101-649, by which the Attorney General and
since 2003 the Secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security may provide TPS to aliens in
the United States who are temporarily unable to
safely return to their home country because of
ongoing armed conflict, the temporary effects
of an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary
and temporary conditions. This earthquake is a
disaster of historic proportions that clearly
calls for such action. This act of relief and
compassion on your behalf would grant temporary
legal status and give work authorization to immigrants
from Pakistan, enabling them to work lawfully
in the United States and send much-needed money
home to assist with rebuilding and family stabilization,
and to forestall a mass exodus. As you know, TPS
has been used in similar situations where crises
in nations of origin prevent immigrants in the
US from returning to their homes. As an immediate
measure, and for similar same reasons, I also
request that you implement a moratorium on removals
to Pakistan.
I also suggest that DHS in Washington DC form
a working group consisting
of relevant federal agencies (DHS, State Department,
etc.), the embassy of Pakistan, and community-based
organizations to work through the immigration-related
issues that will arise because of what has happened.
I know of cases where immigrants in the process
of adjusting their status cannot get the required
police records from their home countries
because the authorizing offices have been destroyed
and such record retrieval is not a priority right
now. Others have no access to important documents
and information, such as their family histories,
passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates,
and photos attesting to the validity of a marriage
because such materials were lost in the earthquake.
It would seem of great benefit to form a diverse
working group to ensure there is responsive dialogue
between the United States government and the government
of Pakistan to address these issues before they
become major hurdles.
I hope the United States Government will look
upon Pakistan and Pakistanis in the United States
with compassion and thoughtfulness, and craft
policies and mechanisms for dialogue to aid the
suffering people when they need it most.
The South Asian Network stands ready
to assist you in such an endeavor. Should you
need further information please call me at 562-403-0488.
Sincerely,
Hamid Khan
Executive Director
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