WASHINGTON, DC – With the clock ticking and thousands of Liberians living legally in the United States facing the possibility of deportation in less than three weeks, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) is ratcheting up calls for the White House to act.  The Obama Administration’s current grant of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for eligible Liberians is set to expire on September 30, 2014, and Reed is urging President Obama to sign an extension.

According to the Associated Press, more than 3,500 people have been infected with Ebola so far, nearly half of them in Liberia.  The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that the Ebola outbreak could exceed 20,000 cases before it is stopped, and many thousands of new cases are expected in Liberia.

“The U.S. should be doing everything it can to help stop the spread of Ebola, not potentially sending thousands of families from our communities into the midst of a deadly outbreak,” said Senator Reed.  “I agree with the President that we have to make the fight against Ebola a national security priority.  It would be inhumane to tear families apart in the U.S. and send them into the hardest hit areas of this disaster.” 

Since 1991, Liberians have relied on short-term provisions of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or DED from Presidents of both political parties to extend their legal right to remain in the United States. These individuals, many of whom have been in the United States since fleeing Liberia in the late 1980's and early 1990's, have retained a legal status that allows them to live, work, and pay taxes in the United States.

On March 15, 2013, President Obama granted Liberians in the United States an 18-month DED extension, which is set to expire at the end of September.

“These Liberian immigrants have worked hard, played by the rules, paid U.S. taxes, and made positive contributions to our communities. Many of them have children who are American citizens and none of them deserve to be in a constant state of limbo over their immigration status.  It is time for the President to end the uncertainty and extend their legal right to remain in the United States, and it is time for Congress to act on comprehensive immigration reform that gives them an opportunity to remain here permanently,” said Reed, who has introduced the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act, a bill to grant permanent residency to qualifying Liberians living legally in the United States.

In July, Senator Reed led a letter with 14 of his Senate colleagues urging the White House to act.

"The current system of short-term DED renewals leaves Liberians and their families with perennial uncertainty about whether they will be able to remain members of the communities they have come to call home. For this reason, while we urge you to grant a lengthy extension of at least two years and to make this announcement well in advance of the current DED expiration, we continue to call for comprehensive immigration reform that includes an adjustment to permanent resident status for qualifying Liberians and their families," wrote Reed and 14 other U.S. Senators, including: Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Al Franken (D-MN), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

Next week, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies – on which Reed serves -- and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee are scheduled to hold a joint hearing on “Ebola in West Africa: A Global Challenge and Public Health Threat.”

Earlier this year, Reed successfully included report language in the fiscal year 2015 Homeland Security Appropriations bill encouraging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to work with the White House and the U.S. Department of State to move expeditiously on considering this DED extension for Liberians.

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