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Klobuchar and Ellison Urge President to Extend Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians

February 23, 2010

Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Keith Ellison called on President Obama to take swift action to extend Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberians living legally in the United States.  Klobuchar and Ellison have long been leaders in Congress in fighting for the Liberian community in the United States, and both members recently met with leaders of Minnesota’s Liberian community to discuss the proposed extension of DED status and its importance to the thousands of Liberians residing in Minnesota.

“Liberians need their DED status re-extended as soon as possible.  The Liberian Community has become an important part of the social fabric of Minnesota - they are our neighbors and our co-workers,” said Senator Klobuchar.  “While Liberia continues to be unstable, it is important that Liberians who are here legally have a sense of certainty that they will be able to continue to call Minnesota home.”

“Liberian-Americans contribute productively to our communities in Minnesota.  They pay taxes; their children go to school; they shop and work in our factories and stores.  They are part of who Minnesota is today.  The Administration should grant Deferred Extended Status quickly because the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation never accounted for a conflict that has gone on for decades,” said Congressman Keith Ellison.

Klobuchar and Ellison, both previously joined in introducing Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act in the Senate and the House, respectively. The bill would allow Liberians who were brought to the United States legally under temporary protection status classification to apply for permanent residency.  The two also helped lead the successful fight grant to DED to eligible Liberians in September 2007, authorized by President Bush, and again pushed for the one-year DED extension authorized by President Obama in March 2008. The current DED protection is set to expire March 31, 2010.

Klobuchar and Ellison say that an expulsion of thousands of Liberians from the United States could easily overwhelm and reverse the advances that Liberia has made in recent years.   They also point out that Liberians in the United States are providing financial support to Liberia through remittances to their families currently in the country.

In 1989, a civil war in Liberia displaced over half the country’s population and many Liberians sought refuge in the United States.  More than 30,000 Liberians reside in Minnesota and an estimated 1,000 currently are living under DED status.  Since 1991, these refugees have been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) status.

On Friday, February 12 Klobuchar and 12 other senators, including Senator Al Franken, sent a letter to the President calling for the extension of DED status and highlighting the instability that still exists in Liberia.   

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