Almost 4,000 Liberians have been living and working legally in the United States since 1999, but now, those immigrants may have to uproot their foundation. President Donald Trump noted on Tuesday (Mar. 28), that he’s giving Liberians with a temporary immigration status a year in the states before they have to resettle in Liberia or be deported, the New York Times reports.
Trump decided not to renew the Deferred Enforced Departure program that allowed Liberians to legally live in the states since 1999 to aide the country’s infrastructure after a civil war. It was set to expire Saturday (Mar. 31). Trump outlined a 12-month “orderly transition” because “Liberia is no longer experiencing armed conflict and has made significant progress in restoring stability and democratic governance,” according to the NYT.
Near the start of the year, Trump’s administration also ended temporary legal immigration status for 200,000 Salvadorans in the U.S. The country’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests have skyrocketed in 2017 with a total of 143,470 arrests, according to a Pew Research Center study.
His administration also plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The White House says they’re doing it as a way to help protect minority voting rights, while others state this could lower participation in the survey causing a domino effect of inaccurate information, uneven distribution of federal money and strategically moving politics for the benefit of Republicans.