Hundreds of Liberians legally in U.S. face deportation following Trump decision

The Trump administration is facing mounting pressure from lawmakers, human rights activists and civil rights lawyers to extend deportation protections for thousands of Liberians who may become undocumented immigrants within a week.

President Donald Trump announced in March 2018 that hundreds of Liberians who had been legally living and working in the U.S. for more than two decades would have their status revoked and would no longer be protected from deportation.

Through a presidential memorandum, the president gave them one year to settle their affairs, but now he's facing pressure to save that group before their status expires on Sunday.

Democrats in Congress have sent letters to Trump to extend the Deferred Enforced Departure program, or DED, for the Liberians, arguing that conditions in their home country remain dangerous and that they've become contributing members of their U.S. communities.

Hennepin County, Minnesota, home to Minneapolis, has the greatest number of Liberians — an estimated 8,285 — among all counties in the nation, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey covering 2013-2017. The International Institute of Minnesota, a nonprofit devoted to helping new immigrants settle in the state, estimated 35,000 Liberians lived in the state.

Another large community of Liberians is in Philadelphia and its suburban Pennsylvania counties — nearly 11,000, according to ACS estimates. Providence County, Rhode Island; Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, Maryland and Mercer County, New Jersey also have large communities of Liberian immigrants.

On Monday, attorneys general in 10 states — including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison — jumped in, submitting a filing in federal court supporting a lawsuit that's trying to overturn Trump's decision.

The attorneys general wrote that Liberians have contributed to their economies, especially in the field of health care, and that forcing their deportation would hurt their U.S.-born children who are U.S. citizens at birth.

"Liberians protected by DED are hardworking colleagues and valued contributors to our communities," they wrote. Their children, "have already suffered because of the fear that their parents may be removed from the country."

Since taking office, the Trump administration has been systematically ending similar programs that have temporarily protected select groups of undocumented immigrants from deportation.

The administration ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has protected from deportation more than 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.

But federal judges have blocked that decision, and the Justice Department is appealing.

The administration has also been phasing out the Temporary Status Program (TPS), which has protected more than 300,000 people from 10 countries that have been ravaged by violence and natural disasters.

A federal judge also has blocked that decision, and the Justice Department is appealing.

About 10,000 Liberians were first granted TPS status in March 1991 under former President George H.W. Bush when a civil war broke out in that country. Ever since, Liberians have been shuffled between the TPS and DED programs, but their protected status has endured, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.

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They have been extended by former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama as the country grappled with a civil war, ongoing armed conflicts, and an outbreak of the Ebola virus. But last year, after consulting with the departments of State and Homeland Security, Trump concluded that those conditions had been largely resolved and that it was time for them to return home.

"Liberia is no longer experiencing armed conflict and has made significant progress in restoring stability and democratic governance," Trump wrote. "The 2014 outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease caused a tragic loss of life and economic damage to the country, but Liberia has made tremendous progress in its ability to diagnose and contain future outbreaks of the disease."

Many have disputed that conclusion, arguing that conditions in Liberia remain just as dire. They believe that forcing hundreds of Liberian citizens to return now would be hurtful not only to the returning Liberians, but the country as a whole as it continues recovering. That's why on Friday, 11 Democratic members of Congress, led by House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., sent a letter to Trump asking him to reconsider his decision.

"Given the dangers of deadly disease outbreak and violence in Liberia and its neighboring countries, it would be irresponsible to force these individuals and their families to return at this time," the group wrote. "Liberians legally residing in the United States, if sent back, could overburden the country's limited infrastructure and reserve the advances that the Liberian people and government have made."

The Liberians are part of the American Dream and Promise Act introduced by House Democrats, which would extend protections for people in all three programs: DACA, TPS and DED. The bill faces a difficult road in the Republican-led Senate, meaning the only remaining hope for Liberians in the program are a federal court ruling extending their protections, or an unexpected change of heart from Trump.