By Randall Yip, Executive Editor
Attorneys filed a lawsuit today to block the Trump administration from ending protection from deportation for refugees from Myanmar.
Some 4,000 Burmese or Myanmar evacuees face being sent back to the war-torn country that the state department has deemed a “significant risk” to visit.
On November 25, President Trump gave these refugees 60 days to return. Burma is one of 11 countries that Trump is moving to end temporary protective status.
For those from Burma, also known as Myanmar, that status ends January 26.
“It’s really just a pattern of the Trump administration going through country by country, ending protections for non-White immigrants in the U.S. Ending humanitarian protections across the board. We’re challenging this both on the basis of the process not being followed, but also on the basis of this being discriminatory,” said Dinesh Mccoy, staff attorney for the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund.
AALDEF along with the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), and the Law Offices of June J. Htun jointly filed the suit on behalf of six plaintiffs- two from Illinois and one each from Boston, Kansas, Iowa and North Carolina.
McCoy noted that Trump this past spring granted expedited refugee status for White South Africans.
“This fits within this pattern of demonizing communities who are non-white immigrants, and saying, OK, the door is really open just for White immigrant communities,” he said.
Burmese native Lun Pieper immigrated to Indiana in 2001 where there is one of the largest Burmese populations in the country. The co-president of the Burmese American Lawyers Association and a leader in the Burmese American community points out Burma remains under a military dictatorship following a coup five years ago. She also points to the upcoming election there on December 28 which she says will be a “sham.”
“So all of these things combined really make the country situation not safe,” she said to AsAmNews. She says many of those now in the U.S. opposed the current regime and would face “interrogation and detenction” along with other “severe consequences” if they are sent back.
She is now an American citizen but has deep fears for her neighbors.
In announcing the end of TPS for Burmese refugees, Department of Homeland Security Chief Kristi Noems said “The situation in Burma has improved enough that it is safe for Burmese citizens to return home, so we are terminating the Temporary Protected Status. Burma has made notable progress in governance and stability, including the end of its state of emergency, plans for free and fair elections, successful ceasefire agreements, and improved local governance contributing to enhanced public service delivery and national reconciliation.”
“This decision really ignores the reality that’s happening on the ground in Myanmar,” said Pieper.
McCoy encourages all the refugees to seek the advice of an attorney because each situation is different.
Registration is closed for Common Ground: Building Together conference and gala award banquet in San Francisco on January 24. A shoutout to our planning committee: Jane Chin, Frank Mah, Jeannie Young, Akemi Tamanaha, Nathan Soohoo, Mark Young, Dave Liu, and Yiming Fu.
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