Letter to Napolitano from churches
Ms. Janet Napolitano
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
Dear Ms. Napolitano:
I am writing to encourage you to support the request by Guatemala’s Foreign Ministry, presented to the United States Government on June 4, 2010, that in the wake of tropical storm Agatha, Guatemalans in the United States be granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS). We urge you to positively respond to this petition as early as possible.
As portrayed in the media, on the last week of past May, extremely heavy rainfall caused by tropical storm Agatha fell over Central America and southern Mexico. Guatemala was most affected by this disaster, with loss of life, widespread damage to infrastructure, and agricultural losses.
In Guatemala, there are more than one hundreds confirmed deaths, and many other persons are missing, with entire communities buried. In a country already struggling with poverty, I find it difficult to comprehend why the response to the request is taking so long. I find it sad that while the request was submitted on June 4, it is now the end of September and the Guatemalan community is still waiting for this request to be granted.
Please honor this request.
Sincerely,
Ceil Roeger, OP – Promoter of Justice Peace and Care of Creation
