Grandiose Parlor

Thousands of Liberians in the United States on the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) designation may have to go back to their country.

The TPS program is a temporary measure granted to eligible “non-resident foreigners who wish to avoid returning to their homeland because of civil strife or effects of a natural disaster of “extraordinary and temporary conditions,” according to U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS) .

Some 20,000 Liberians were granted residency in the U.S under the TPS designation following the civil war that engulfed the nation between 1989 and 2003. Now that hostilities have stopped and there is a new democratic government in place, the DHS has deemed it appropriate to revoke the TPS designation for Liberians (pdf file), stating that the “extraordinary and temporary conditions that formed the basis for the designation have improved and no longer prevent Liberians from returning to Liberia in safety.”

While this is a factual statement, it is so far from reality. Liberia may no longer be at war, but it does amount to sheer fantasy to imagine that a country which is crawling out of several years of civil strife will be able to absorb the thousands of returnees. Wynfred Russell, a Liberian college Lecturer and resident of Minnesota, muses on the capacity of the Liberian state to absorb the influx in his article: Liberia Has No Capacity To Absorb “TPS” Returnees:

“First, with the Johnson-Sirleaf government currently streamlining the workforce, which is resulting in increased unemployment, how prepared is the country to provide jobs for the new arrivals? Furthermore, a few of the Liberians who are likely to return have faced difficulties accessing educational opportunities (ineligibility for financial aid) during their tenure in the U.S., and thus may lack the basic skills and competence to compete for jobs when they return. Or, a great number may have acquired skills in the U.S. that may not be easily transferable to Liberia.

Additionally, many of the Liberians living in America have been the source of sustaining families in their homeland and neighboring countries that still host many displaced persons. Indeed, if they were forced to leave the U. S. and return to a society where they would be unemployed, sufferings would only soar for them and their families. One also wonders if all these conditions could possibly erode stability, especially in a context where the government is encountering difficulties reducing armed robbery and other violent crimes in Monrovia.”