T.P.S.: OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
New York, June 1, 2010
Mr. Barack Obama,
President of the United States of America
Distinguished President Obama:
We, members of the Executive Board of the Guatemala Peace and Development Network (GPDN) –a network of Guatemalans and friends of Guatemala in the United States and other countries– have the honor of addressing ourselves to you in order to urge you to immediately consider the dire situation of Guatemalans in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption and the tropical storm of the past week.
We ask you to start a dialogue with President Álvaro Colom of Guatemala leading to granting temporary protective status (TPS) to Guatemalans in the United States. As we all know, President Colom has been forced to declare a state of emergency in the entire country, due to the damages caused by the recent eruption of the Pacaya Volcano and the effects of tropical storm Agatha on the Pacific coast. More than one hundred people have died, and the social and economic impact has been huge.
We believe that the conditions for granting TPS are present. The first is to suffer a significant calamity in the country of origin. The second is the existence of high risks for nationals of the country of origin residing in the United States in case they are forced to go back. The third and final one is the official request from the country affected to the authorities of the United States. We trust that President Colom has already contacted President Obama and Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on this matter. And we hope that President Obama will positively respond to this request.
In addition to the direct humanitarian concerns that we are certain you share with us, this act of solidarity would send a political message regarding expressions and actions of discrimination, racism and xenophobia toward immigrants by extremist sectors of the United States. It would be a direct counterweight to the recently approved Arizona law SB 1070, and similar initiatives in other states. It would strongly confront those persons and groups that want to criminalize undocumented aliens. We call on you, Mr. President, to use the humanitarian tradition of the United States of helping those in need to recreate a positive environment for immigration reform.
We look forward to your prompt and beneficial dialogue and decisions.
Sincerely,
-Guatemala Peace and Development Network/Red por la Paz y el Desarrollo de Guatemala (RPDG), NY
-AGMAUSA, Long Island, New York
-GSN, Houston, Texas
-MIA, Los Ángeles, California
-Consejo Comunitario Guatemalteco, Houston, Texas
-Posadas Guatemaltecas, Houston, Texas
-Comité Guatemalteco, Houston, Texas
-Voces Unidas por los Inmigrantes, Dallas, Texas
You can read the letter to Guatemala President Alvaro Colom HERE.