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Temporary Protected Status
Temporary Protected Status
SEATTLE - Sitting at tables in south Seattle, dozens of people from countries in Central America and Africa are getting free legal advice.
“I’m from El Salvador,” said Maria Rivera-Rose who is one of the people taking advantage of getting her legal questions answered at the Rainier Community Center. Rivera-Rose says she moved to the U.S in 1998, works at a chiropractic clinic and has temporary protected status.
“These people who have been working hard and supporting families, and know this country as their only home, ought to have the right to file for permanent status,” said Michael Ramos, the executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle.
The Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration says it’ll strip TPS for thousands of people, leaving immigrants like Rivera-Rose with their protections revoked and a year to figure out what to do.
“I don’t have much options at this moment,” said Rivera-Rosa.
Helping her review options, Yvette Maganya with One America. Maganya says she can relate on a personal level because she came to the United States as a refugee at the age of seven.
“I come from the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said Maganya.
She says navigating national policy changes can take an emotional toll on those affected and their families.
“I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be deported or think of a second plan for your family,” said Maganya.
For Maria’s family, that second plan may be applying for citizenship through her teenage daughter who was born here, but it still doesn’t keep her from wondering what her future may look like.