Guatemala to request Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from the United States

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has instructed his Foreign Minister to ask the United States to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to its nationals living in the United States without proper authorization because of the damaging effects of the recent Volcan Fuego eruption. Over 100 Guatemalans were killed as a result of the eruption, perhaps several hundred more. One woman might have lost over 50 relatives.

It's been nearly six years since I argued that the US should extend TPS to Guatemala.

Obama should move to extend Temporary Protected Status to our Guatemalan neighbours so that the country can better recover from these natural disasters without the additional challenge of dealing with the deportation of thousands of their countrymen. 

TPS isn't a magical solution to the migratory challenges that confront the US and its southern neighbours. The US still needs to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2013. 

The US and Latin America should also work to design a more humane migratory system for the 21st century. However, those will both take time. Right now, TPS is one tool that the executive branch has at its disposal and one that can have a positive effect on the lives of millions of people in Guatemala and in the United States.

President Obama's administration did not move on the request. It's tough to envision the Trump administration supporting TPS for Guatemalans. Sure, its president has offered to help build the wall separating the United States from the world. It has announced its decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem. President Morales is a former clown who shares much in common with President Trump. There are many good reasons for the United States to extend TPS to Guatemala - self-interest, compassion, rewarding an "ally," and it's good for the Guatemalan people in the US and in their homes countries - but it would really be surprising for President Trump to do the right thing.