Dozens rally in Boston in support of immigrant TPS holders as Trump administration moves toward removing legal status
Sijan Shrestha, 29, of Brighton, moved to the US from Nepal as an international student in 2014, when he was able to attain TPS status after a devastating earthquake struck Nepal in 2015.
'I'm in the mercy of DHS,' she said in an interview.
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Shrestha said he works in biotechnology and feels he has contributed to the US economy through his job and by paying taxes.
'You're not the same person as you were before you get punched in the head, and it's the same thing here,' Shrestha said, noting the difficulty of returning to Nepal, where he hasn't lived since he turned 18.
Shrestha said he tried to obtain legal status through other options when he saw his TPS status was threatened, but he was not selected for a work visa in the H-1B lottery system. He now hopes to attend graduate school to stay in the US a couple more years.
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'For the longest time I chose not to speak about it, there were too many questions,' he said. 'It's been a learning process for me over the years as well.'
At least 17,135 TPS holders live in Massachusetts, many with children who are US citizens, according to the
Honduran and Nicaraguan nationals first received TPS status in 1999 during following
the destruction brought on by Hurricane Mitch. In a statement, DHS said the program was never intended to last for over a quarter century, and the impact of the natural disaster on the Central American country no longer exists.
Under federal law, individuals from certain countries who are already in the US can receive TPS. The designation is given during natural disasters, civil wars, or 'extraordinary and temporary conditions,' according to
Individuals under the protected status are not removable during the duration of TPS, can receive work and travel authorization, and cannot be detained by DHS on the basis of immigration status.
TPS holders from Haiti, one of the
At the rally, attendees held signs in support of TPS holders displaying messages like, 'Immigrants make U.S. great.'
Patricia Carbajal, 46, of Revere, said she arrived in Texas in 1998 from Honduras before eventually moving to Massachusetts with her family. After 26 years living and working in the US as a single mother, Carbajal said she is facing deportation in the next two months.
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'Our lives depend on the judge's decision,' Carbajal said in Spanish, referring to the lawsuit in San Francisco.
Isabel Matute, 52, who was born in El Salvador and lives in Revere, has been in the US for more than 26 years. She said she used to be a TPS holder but is now awaiting her green card after marrying a U.S. citizen.
'One has to fight for those who can't,' Matute said in Spanish.
Maria Probert can be reached at
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