Centro Presente and the City of Somerville will host a legal clinic to support immigrants protected under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Immigration lawyers will be on hand to provide free legal advice to participants regarding legal avenues to normalize their immigration status. TPS is a program of the U.S. government that grants temporary documentation to non-citizens from designated nations who are unable to return to their countries because of armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. The status allows TPS holders to legally live and work in the U.S. and for some nationals has been continually renewed for nearly twenty years. The current administration, through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will soon be deciding whether to extend designations of TPS for all nationals that currently hold this designation.

“This activity is part of a joint effort between Centro Presente and the City of Somerville to support the immigrant community. TPS status should be extended until beneficiaries can safely return home and can successfully reintegrate into their home communities. Ultimately most long-term TPS recipients should be afforded a path to lawful permanent resident status and ultimately to US citizenship,” declared Patricia Montes, Executive Director of Centro Presente.

According to a new study by the Center for Migration Studies in January 2017, an estimated of 325,000 TPS holders resided in the United States. This statistical portrait of TPS beneficiaries from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti reveals hardworking populations with strong family and other ties to the United States. In addition, high percentages have lived in the United States for 20 years or more, arrived as children, and have US citizen children.

The paper finds that the five leading industries in which TPS beneficiaries from these countries work are: construction (51,700), restaurants and other food services (32,400), landscaping services (15,800), child day care services (10,000), and grocery stores (9,200). The six US states with the largest TPS populations from these countries are California (55,000), Texas (45,000), Florida (45,000), New York (26,000), Virginia (24,000), and Maryland (23,000). TPS beneficiaries from these nations have an estimated 273,000 US citizen children (born in the United States).

When: Saturday, July, 22, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Where: East Somerville Community School, 50 Cross St, Somerville, MA.