“The move by the Trump Administration to deport nearly 60,000 Hondurans who were admitted to the US as long as 19 years ago is a gratuitously cruel move. On the heels of decisions to end status for individuals from Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Nepal, it betrays the trust established by President George W. Bush in 2001 when he granted legal status to Hondurans who were devastated by hurricanes and other natural disasters. They have lived in the US for a very long time, some over decades, and have an estimated 53,500 American-born children; 85 percent participate in the labor force, and nearly 20 percent have mortgages.”

“This latest decision by President Trump is one of several that is transforming US immigration policy into a vendetta against those admitted by previous administrations. It lacks all compassion and rationality. It violates the last 50 years of immigration policy, which recognized the value of immigrants, the need to unite families, and the need to open our borders and hearts to the persecuted and dispossessed. Trump’s policy violates our shared religious values that call on us to welcome the stranger. This chapter of American immigration policy will be remembered as a shameful one in American history.”

“We call on members of Congress to do everything in their power to reinstate the temporary protective status designation for Honduras and to pass a permanent legislative solution for all in our country who now hold temporary protective status.”