Rep. Omar’s Statement on DHS Designation of Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopia

MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) issued the following statement after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the designation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. Rep. Omar has been a longtime advocate for the people of Ethiopia, including a Temporary Protected Status designation. In September 2021, she co-led letter with Rep. Joe Neguse specifically asking the Administration to designate TPS for Ethiopia. This July, she co-led a letter with Rep. Sherman and Sen. Booker urging Administrator Power to prioritize additional steps to protect Ethiopian refugees who have fled into Sudan since the conflict began.

“I am glad the Biden Administration designated Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopia today, allowing Ethiopians in the United States to remain and work in the U.S. for at least 18 months. Ethiopia is undergoing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Conflict and atrocities, combined with drought, flooding and dwindling food stocks are threatening the lives of more than 20 million people. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Along with a lack of fuel and communications blackouts, the violence has severely limited aid distribution. While these protections for Ethiopians currently in the United States are welcome, we must also do much more for the millions of people still in the region who have been displaced by this conflict.

“There are more people living as refugees now than at any time since World War II, a number that is bound to soar ever higher as the climate crisis worsens. As a nation, we owe it to those fleeing oppression to guarantee protected status and to create a path to citizenship.”