Washington, DC – President Donald Trump decided today to extend the deadline by 12 months to end Deferred Forced Departure Protection (DED) benefiting some 200,000 citizens of Liberia. as an “important regional partner” for Washington.
In a memo issued by the White House and addressed to the Departments of State and National Security (DHS, in English), Trump recalled that on March 27, 2018 had decided that the conditions in that African country had improved and set for the next March 31 the deadline for that protection to expire.
“After a reflection and review, I have decided that it is in the interest of US foreign policy to extend the expiration period for an additional 12 months until March 30, 2020,” he said in the document.
In his communication, the president pointed out that the situation in Africa in general continues to be a concern for Washington and highlighted Liberia as an “important regional partner”.
“The relationship between the United States and Liberia is unique,” Trump said in the memo, in which he points out that reintegrating DED beneficiaries into civil and political life will be a complex task.
Similarly, he warned that a failed transition could impact US relations. and Liberia and undermine post-war civilian progress in that country towards democracy and political stability.
In Trump’s opinion, extending this term “will preserve the status quo while Congress considers compensatory legislation.”
In 1991 the ex-president Bill Clinton granted the Liberians a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) due to the civil war that lived his country (1989-1997) and again in 1999, when there was a resurgence of the conflict in that eastern country from Africa.
On October 1, 2007, former President George W. Bush converted it into DED, protection that has been extended until now.
In January 2018, the Trump Administration withdrew the Status of Temporary Protection to almost 200,000 Salvadorans, while in previous months it did the same with the nationals of Haiti, which benefited nearly 60,000 people, and Nicaragua, which were welcomed about 5,000 Nicaraguans
However, last February, the Department of Homeland Security announced the extension until January 2, 2020 of the TPS for the beneficiaries of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti and Sudan, pursuant to a judicial ruling. (EFE)
