news

Representatives Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Mark Pocan (WI-02), and Ro Khanna (CA-17) today sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Biden Administration to extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Yemen.
 
Continued armed conflict, the end of a United Nations-brokered ceasefire on October 3, 2022, and ongoing famine make safe return to the country impossible for Yemenis present in the United States. These individuals depend on this important designation for their immediate safety and security during a time of war.
 
“Congress provided TPS to protect nationals of a country experiencing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other dire current conditions preventing the safe return to their country of origin,” the lawmakers write. “Yemen is approaching nearly the tenth year of a war that has claimed an estimated 377,000 lives, caused severe famine, energy shortages, and more. As the war continues to afflict the country, redesignating and extending TPS protections for Yemenis in the United States remains of paramount importance and is legally and morally warranted. Failure to do so would force the more than 1,000 Yemenis currently under TPS to face insurmountable circumstances upon return.”
 
“Since its initial designation in 2015, TPS for Yemen has been extended five times and redesignated three times, including under this Administration,” the lawmakers continue. “The history of consecutive bipartisan TPS extensions underscores the severity of the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The same extraordinary and temporary conditions that led to these determinations—including armed conflict—remain, rendering the safe return of Yemenis residing in the United States as impossible.”
 
“Extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Yemen and redesignating it for eligible Yemeni nationals supports U.S. national interests, aligns with its human rights commitment, and reflects dedication to humanitarian aid and global stability. When President Biden took office in January 2021, he stated that the war in Yemen “has created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe.” On May 9, 2022, President Biden extended the National Emergency with respect to Yemen citing the state of the country as a threat to the peace, security, and stability of Yemen and the national security of the United States,” the lawmakers conclude. “Furthermore, the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, issued by the United States Department of State, underscore Yemen's "significant human rights issues," including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, recruitment of child soldiers, gender-based violence linked to conflict, severe limitations on freedom of expression and media, and extreme forms of child labor. Allowing TPS to expire would not only be detrimental to the individuals directly affected but also undermine the foreign policy interests of the United States in the region.”
 
The United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) estimated 21.6 million people—nearly 80 percent of Yemen’s population, including 11 million children— required some form of humanitarian assistance in 2023. Currently, the situation remains critical, with 19 million Yemenis in need of food assistance, among them 7.3 million facing emergency levels of hunger, including 2.7 million acutely malnourished children. As this humanitarian crisis persists, over 4.5 million Yemenis have been displaced, and an additional 5 million are at risk of famine. The crisis is compounded by cholera outbreaks and ongoing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
 
The letter is signed by Representatives André Carson, Adriano Espaillat, Sylvia Garcia, Raúl Grijalva, Jonathan Jackson, Barbara Lee, Jim McGovern, Eleanor Norton, Ilhan Omar, and Mike Quigley.
 
View the full letter here.