Donald Trump, the United States President, on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, has given thousands of Liberian migrants to the U.S, who have been living in America since the 1991 civil war, one year of grace to leave the United States.
The President, in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, stated that he would accord the Liberians a 12-month “wind-down” period to prepare their departure.
He wrote, “Through consultation with appropriate executive departments and agencies and my advisors, I have been informed that conditions in Liberia have improved.
“Liberia is no longer experiencing armed conflict and has made significant progress in restoring stability and democratic governance,” he argued.
While admitting that the 2014 outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa had brought “tragic loss of lives and economic damage” to Liberia, he expressed satisfaction with the progress made by the country in tackling the disease.
In 1991, when the West African country was in the grip of civil war, some Liberians living in the US were given “temporary protected status” to allow them to remain in safety.
Then in 1999 approximately 10,000 of them were made eligible for “deferred enforced departure,” or DED, by then-president Bill Clinton, allowing them to continue to build new lives.
Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have periodically renewed the DED status, but Trump has now decided to allow it to expire, deeming Liberia safe for returnees.
Trump has taken a tough stance on immigration in general and, in reported private conversations, an even tougher stance on Africans from what he has reportedly deemed “shithole countries.”
The latest grace period expires on March 31, but Trump said in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security that he would accord the Liberians a 12-month “wind-down” period to prepare their departure.
“Through consultation with appropriate executive departments and agencies and my advisors, I have been informed that conditions in Liberia have improved,” Trump wrote.
“Liberia is no longer experiencing armed conflict and has made significant progress in restoring stability and democratic governance,” he argued.
Trump admitted that the 2014 outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa had brought “tragic loss of life and economic damage” to Liberia, one of the world’s poorest countries after years of civil war.
But he declared himself satisfied with Liberia’s progress in tackling the disease.
It is not clear how many of the original 10,000 DED recipients may have died, moved on voluntarily or been granted another form of legal US residency — but the rest face an uncertain future.
Opponents of Trump’s move warned it would uproot many who had made new and productive lives for themselves in the United States.
Read more at ABC
