Liberians in Delco fear new Trump crackdown
Trump’s push to end deferred enforcement may hit local residents
President Donald Trump’s decision to remove almost 20 years of deportation protections for thousands of Liberian immigrants may hit close to home.
The president last week issued a memo saying he will no longer extend Deferred Enforced Deportation (DED) to a reported 4,000 beneficiaries effective March 31, 2019, stating that conditions in the West African country have improved and no longer warrants a DED extension.
“Liberia is no longer experiencing armed conflict and has made significant progress in restoring stability and democratic governance,” read the president’s March 27 memo to the secretaries of State and Homeland Security. “Liberia has also concluded reconstruction from prior conflicts, which has contributed significantly to an environment that is able to handle adequately the return of its nationals.”
The DED for Liberian immigrants started in 1999 under President Bill Clinton as the country was going through its second civil war in a decade and has been renewed annually under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
With the latest extension ending on March 31, 2018, Trump said the next year will be a “winddown” period for DED-holding Liberians before deportation goes into effect. Obtaining a visa may be the only thing that can prevent them from going back to Liberia.
According to a local immigration advocate, Trump’s positions to selectively target travel and immigration restrictions on particular countries is being heard by immigrants of all nationalities.
“Some people are really afraid,” said Raya Fagg, director of the Upper Darby Welcome Center. “Some people hope that things will get better, but the majority of people are nervous.”
“Recently, I’ve seen people come seeking asylum status because they were so outspoken against the government in Liberia. The ones who have been here for a longer period of time, who the DED affects, they came here because of the war and they remain here because of family.”
— Raya Fagg, director of the Upper Darby Welcome Center
Fagg helps as many as 60 immigrants every month at the welcome center, providing resources that will help them obtain their citizenship including English Language Learner classes. Throughout the year she said she helps about 100 Liberians in eastern Delaware County communities.
A 2014 report from the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population of foreign-born Africans in America to be 1.5 million, 71,000 of them from Liberia. The eastern end of the county – Upper Darby, Darby and other Philadelphia-bordering towns – is noted for having a sizable Liberian population.
The impact of the DED status revocation starting next year is being felt here.
“I’ve seen or talked to two people (on March 28) with DED. They’re concerned,” Fagg said.
When immigrants, including those from Liberia, come to see Fagg she inquiries about what their homeland was like and what brought them to America.
“Recently, I’ve seen people come seeking asylum status because they were so outspoken against the government in Liberia,” she said. “The ones who have been here for a longer period of time, who the DED affects, they came here because of the war and they remain here because of family.”
In addition to other safety concerns, opportunity and economic reasons are another indicator why people stay, since the gross domestic product per capita in Liberia is only $900, compared to a per capita GDP in America of $59,500, according to the CIA World Factbook.
Obtaining a work authorization and a tax ID is an option for Liberians, according to the United States Citizens and Immigration Services site. That would allow them to be employed and pay taxes in this country.
“The majority of people who come in here have decided that today is the day that they are going to make a change, a positive change in their life,” said Fagg. “They want to be more intuned with the American dream, the American way … I help guide them to the correct resources and the passion and the path that is unique to them.”
To take away a family, a home and a job that they have built up will be hard for the potential thousands of DED beneficiaries who may be forced to leave next year.
“They have homes and families and identities here and to take that all away within a year – that will be a challenge to adjust with,” said Fagg.
The position that Liberians are in is tricky, according to Fagg.
Because many Liberians have emigrated from their homeland to the United States since 1991 when they were eligible for DED or Temporary Protected Status, there is no clear pathway to citizenship for these persons if there is no family who were residing here before them in order to get a sponsored visa. At the same time, they do “what you tell them to create” and it gets taken away.
Fagg compared the situation to another hot button immigration policy: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the Obama-era policy that allows minors who entered the country illegally or were born here to those who do not have citizen status, or sometimes brought here by their parents to receive renewable periods of deferred action and be able to receive work permits.
“You come here, you do what you’re supposed to do and follow the rules, and you still don’t have a way to get the things that you would like to get (citizenship),” she said. “I think it’s unfair, sad. I think about the people I know in this community and how it would hurt their families.”
Misinformation and fear being spread through social media is fanning the flames, Fagg added.
One such piece may include that President Barack Obama has deported more persons than any other American president in history. According to a report by the Migration Policy Institute using data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 3 million people were deported under Trump’s Democratic predecessor by way of formal orders of removal to their country. Most of these removals came as the administration focused on noncitizens convicted of crimes. The use of removals was to create “a lasting legal consequence likely reduc(ing) the number of unauthorized immigrants attempting to cross the border multiple times,” states the MPI’s report.
Overall deportations under the Obama administration, which include removals and returns, were approximately 5.3 million, about half the figure under President Bush’s administration.
Like any major issue in the political/social realm Fagg said there needs to be changes to the current avenues for some groups to achieve citizenship.
“When a person has established that they’ve been here and they’ve shown the good moral character that we ask for when you want to become a citizen … we, as a country, need to look at a pathway for them to become an American citizen,” said Fagg. “We should look at what each group (DED, DACA, TPS) has done.
“For example, the Liberians in the DED, they’ve been here over the years, they pay the taxes, they follow the law, and they’ve gotten the American dream. Why don’t we now have a way for them to become citizens?”