As a result of this year’s unprecedented floods, US senators are requesting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Pakistani nationals who currently reside in the US.
In a letter to US President Joe Biden last month, two Democratic senators—Diane Feinstein of California and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York—begged him to give the TPS designation, according to reports.
In the letter, the US senators said, “Given the severity of this crisis, the United States must ensure that Pakistani nationals present in the United States are not forced to return to conditions that could imperil their lives.”
Reportedly, Senators Patty Murray, Dick Durbin, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Mark Warner, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Chris Van Hollen, Bob Casey, and Tina Smith, among others, supported the letter.
Speaking about the floods, the senators claimed that this year’s unheard-of flooding scenario has submerged a third of Pakistan and impacted nearly 33 million people.
They also emphasised how the ongoing crisis has rendered many areas dangerous and untenable, in addition to causing an estimated $10 billion in damage.
They also discussed typhoid, typhoid fever, acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, malaria, and acute skin and eye diseases in the letter.
As quoted by US Senator of Maryland, Van Hollen’s site, “Granting TPS to Pakistani nationals in need is a small but consequential step that the United States can take to immediately reduce the human suffering caused by this natural disaster and would reaffirm our stance as a global leader committed to humanitarian relief efforts and protection,” the senators wrote, as quoted by US Senator of Maryland, Van Hollen’s site.
“Should Pakistan officially request TPS designation given the current conditions the country is facing, we urge the Biden administration to prioritise such a request while continuing to monitor ongoing developments and deliberate on the best way to aid the Pakistani community,” the letter added, as per Van Hollen’s site.
Several humanitarian organisations, including the National Immigration Forum, Asian American Federation, Communities United for Status and Protection, the Climate Justice Collaborative at the National Partnership for New Americans, and South Asian Americans Leading Together, endorse the action.
The letter praised the US decision to support Pakistan by providing USD 30 million in humanitarian aid, but it also stated that additional action is required to lessen the negative impacts of this crisis, according to Dawn.
The senators made the case that requiring Pakistanis to return to a nation that is dealing with what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has referred to as the relentless impact of “epochal” amounts of rain and flooding would be a terrible hindrance to relief operations.
They said that it would also run the danger of causing more displacement, destabilising the region, and harming crucial US national security interests.