Georgetown Law & UBN Life on Hold

UBN, alongside African Communities Together (ACT), led efforts to get members of the Liberian community to Washington, D.C. to advocate for DED and eventually, for LRIF. UBN, ACT, and other organizations focused on African immigrants pushed members of Congress with Liberian constituents to support permanent protection for Liberians. LRIF: A Historic Comprehensive, Permanent Form of Relief History of the Passage of LRIF LRIF was included as a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2020 sponsored by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) and passed into law in late 2019. 69 The provision was based on Senate Bill 456, the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act, which Senator Reed first introduced into the Senate in 1999. Senator Reed’s decades of activism is due in part to Rhode Island’s large population of Liberians, who engaged the senator and other members of Congress for decades. 70 Due to this grassroots activism, and in major part because of the necessity of passing $738 billion in defense spending, the NDAA was approved 377 to 48 by the House of Representatives and approved 86 to 8 by the Senate. 71 At the time of passage on December 20, 2019, LRIF was estimated to impact more than 4,000 Liberians who had been legally living in the United States under TPS and DED status. However, the Migration Policy Institute estimated that LRIF could benefit at least 9,500 Liberians in the United States who might not have come forward to pursue legal status otherwise. 72 In addition, the spouses and children of LRIF-eligible applicants will themselves be eligible for permanent residency under LRIF. LRIF allows Liberians to adjust their status to that of lawful permanent residents, and eventually to naturalize as U.S. citizens. Under LRIF, Liberians may apply for permanent residency if they have lived continuously in the United States since November 20, 2014, the date the Obama Administration designated Liberian nationals eligible for TPS due to the Ebola outbreak. LRIF is a non-discretionary program, indicating that an applicant shall be granted status as long as USCIS determines they fit the eligibility criteria. Liberians need to provide certain documents, such as an unexpired Liberian passport or certificate of naturalization, to demonstrate their Liberian nationality. They also need to meet certain additional requirements, such as not being deemed inadmissible under the INA. 73 LRIF was hailed in the halls of Congress as the first expansion of immigrants’ rights in decades, with many members applauding the contributions of the Liberian community in the United States. 74 69 Reed Includes NDAA Provision to Extend Permanent Residency Status for Eligible Liberians and Open a Pathway to U.S. Citizenship, Off. Sen. Jack Reed (Dec. 12, 2019), https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-includes-ndaa-provision-to-extend- permanent-residency-status-for-eligible-liberians-and-open-a-pathway-to-us-citizenship. 70 Id . 71 Nicole Narea, After living in limbo for decades, about 4,000 Liberians can now apply for green cards in the US, VOX, (Dec. 27, 2019), https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/12/27/21039138/liberia-green-card-path-citizenship-ndaa. 72 Tania Karas, ‘It doesn’t feel very real ’: Liberian immigrants in US rejoice at pathway to citizenship, THE WORLD, (Dec. 20, 2019), https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-12-20/it-doesn-t-feel-very-real-liberian-immigrants-us-rejoice-pathway-citizenship. 73 USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Adjustment of Status, Part P, Other Adjustment Programs, Chapter 5, Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness, https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-p-chapter-5. 74 Off. Sen. Jack Reed, supra note 69.

Life On Hold: Black Immigrants & the Promise of Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness

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