New Mexico Joins Fight to Protect ‘TPS’ Holders

ALBUQUERQUE – State Attorney General Hector Balderas today signed on to an amicus brief filed in support of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders. The case in question, Saget v. Trump, is currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York.

The amicus filing was made on behalf of a coalition of 21 attorneys general from across the nation, led by California, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

TPS is a humanitarian program designed to provide legal status and work authorization to people whose countries of origin are unsafe and cannot safely accommodate their return. The current court case is challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) efforts to terminate TPS for thousands of Haitian nationals, many of whom have been in the United States for decades and live with family members who are U.S. citizens.

Earlier this year a preliminary injunction was obtained in the district court, blocking the Trump Administration’s attempt to end TPS for Haitians. In today’s filing the coalition are urging the appellate court to uphold the preliminary injunction and thus prevent the DHS’ removal plan.

“TPS protects people who are our neighbors, healthcare providers, teachers, and so much more,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, one of the coalition's co-leaders. “When the Trump Administration attacks TPS, it’s attacking the well-being of communities across the country – threatening to tear families apart in the process. We’ve stood up and won on this issue before and we’ll continue to fight for the rights of those living in the United States.”

In the brief, the coalition notes that terminating TPS for Haitian recipients will have a serious impact on states, local governments, and their communities. Many TPS holders have lived in the United States for a decade or more and have started families and businesses, bought homes, and significantly contributed to their communities.

The coalition project that if allowed to continue, over the next ten years the loss of legal status for Haitian TPS holders would cut almost $3 billion from GDP, more than $428 million in Social Security and Medicare contributions, and cost employers more than $60 million in turnover costs.

The brief argues that approximately 27,000 U.S. children have been born to Haitian TPS holders, and that approximately ten nine percent of TPS holders are married to a U.S. citizen. Ending TPS, the filing contends, would inevitably tear these families apart, leaving children traumatized, and creating an unnecessary burden for state foster care systems.

Ending TPS, the brief continues, would also undermine public health and safety, as former TPS holders and their children would be less likely to report crime and get the healthcare they need. Further, the coalition argues that DHS’ explanations for terminating TPS are spurious, and that the district court properly concluded that the decision to terminate TPS for Haiti likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

Today’s filing comes further to an action in March 2018, when a coalition of 19 attorneys general urged Congress to grant TPS holders green cards, which would allow them to remain in the United States if their TPS status was ever terminated. Overall, more than 400,000 migrants from 10 countries are protected by TPS in the United States.

In filing the amicus brief, Attorney General Balderas was joined by the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.

The full amicus brief can be read at: https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Saget%20v.%20Trump%20-%20Brief%20of%20Amici%20States%20-%20As%20Filed.pdf