Booker Statement on Trump Administration’s Termination of Temporary Protected Status Designation for Honduras

Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement:

“For centuries, our nation has stood as a beacon of hope for people forced to flee their native lands due to violence, terror, persecution, and oppression. I am appalled that the Trump administration is terminating Temporary Protected Status for tens of thousands of Hondurans currently living in the United States.

“Honduras remains plagued by extreme violence and is unable to absorb this number of returnees and ensure their safety. Additionally, these Hondurans have an estimated 53,500 American-born children – citizens of our country whose parents are now faced with the agonizing choice of either leaving their kids behind in the U.S. or bringing them into a dangerous country. No parent should be forced to make such an awful decision.

“There are 18 months until this termination becomes effective, and I will fight it every step of the way.”

Last month, Booker joined Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and other Democratic Senators on a letter to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and then-Acting Secretary of State John Sullivan urging them to extend the TPS designation for Honduran nationals.

Over the past year, Booker has also urged the Trump administration to grant or extend Temporary Protected Status designations for a number of other countries, including Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan.