Status of Liberians in the U.S.

On April 10, 2009 Her Excellency, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia was in Minnesota as part of her U.S. book tour for “This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President” published by HarperCollins Publishers. The Advocates for Human Rights and the Organization for Liberians in Minnesota held receptions for her. I attended as a guest of the International Leadership Institute and had the opportunity to take a picture with Her Excellency.

It was a wonderful event to see Liberians happy to visit with their President. A President who spent more than one year in jail at the hands of Samuel Doe's regime, and was threatened by Charles Taylor's regime. She understands what it means to be persecuted, and is clearly a great departure from the presidents that destroyed the country and had no respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Minnesota is home to the second largest settlement of Liberians outside of Africa. It was refreshing to hear the President candidly discuss the country she inherited in November 2005 and the task ahead. While the country has made strides, the President stated that it was not ready to absorb the number of Liberians that will be forced to return home if the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) they now hold in the U.S. is terminated. She applauded the Obama administration for renewing the Liberians’ status, and supported the Liberians’ wishes that they be accorded Lawful Permanent Resident status in the U.S.

Liberians are overdue for permanent resident status. Thousands of them have been in the U.S for more than 20 years on TPS. They have U.S. citizen children who have lived here all their lives; they have homes here; in short, they are part of the fabric of the U.S. For these Liberians, it does not make any rational sense for them to be returned to Liberia. Not only will that be devastating to their lives and the lives of their families; it would create a huge hole in the lives of the Americans among whom they have lived for so long. At a moment when we do not want more homes on the market, they would be forced to sell theirs; at a time when they represent huge populations in cities in Minnesota and Rhode Island, their massive departure would be devastating to the businesses they work for and own. The funds they remit to their families in Liberia have been critical for both the family members and their fragile government with limited resources to provide for its nationals.

I represent Liberians in various immigration proceedings, and have observed that the new trend for the government is to argue "changed country conditions." They argue the country has made such huge changes that it is safe for those who fled to return. That is clearly not the situation. There has to be more progress on security and stability before one can conclude that the situation has fundamentally changed. Liberians are anxious to return home; but they also realize that if care is not taken, progress could be reversed.

Peace to all people of good will.

The Obama Admin on Immigration Reform in '09

This week saw the first post Obama inauguration push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR). As first reported in the New York Times on April 9, 2009, the administration is committed to starting discussions on the subject this year. This is in line with public statements by House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid on the need to push for CIR this year. Then came the news today that Rahm Emmanuel the White House Chief of Staff supports CIR this year. For those who have followed the background discussions on this matter closely, Emmanuel's support is a really big deal. This means that the stars are finally lined up for CIR, except for one thing: the economy.

I expect public relations efforts in the next few months to engage the general public on this subject. Don't be surprised to see campaign-style commercials on your TV screen. Every effort will be made to reintroduce the subject as a humane issue that goes to what we are as Americans, and what we need to do to help the ailing economy.

Those opposed to the cause are mobilizing and working to spread the news and impression that if we do CIR, Americans will lose their jobs to foreigners; that the right approach is to kick out all foreigners so that Americans will be hired and unemployment reduced. See the Stein Report on the FAIR website. This argument misses the point. Most potential beneficiaries of CIR are in the US. They are our neighbors; we want them to buy homes to help stem the tide of foreclosures. Kicking them out will result in more foreclosed homes. Also, some of them are the engines the U.S. needs to remain a force in a competitive global economy. But most importantly, inclusiveness and keeping families together is a core American value.

We have leadership in the White House on this issue. We have congressional leaders who understand the issues. We have lessons from the bitter battle of 2007. We have a congress that is weary of this same fight that never goes away, and who wants to deal with it now and be done with it. We have political strategists who understand that this is an important issue for an increasingly influential constituency. We have the opposition who, following the painful electoral losses of 2006 and 2008, understand that one of the paths out of political wilderness is NOT to appear xenophobic and anti-immigration. But then again, we also have those who only care to bash those who are “different.”

This is an exciting time for all advocates of immigration reform. We will be providing regular updates on this blog on the state of the debate and report progress and setbacks.

Peace to all people of goodwill.