By Our Staff Writer
Liberians in the United States, who are yet to regularize their immigration status under the DED program, have barely over five months to be in the US or risk being forcefully deported.
DED is the Deferred Enforced Departure program that allowed undocumented Liberians fleeing the years of civil conflict at home to live in the US. And some statistics put the number of persons in this category at up to 20,000.
As US President Donald Trump’s final March 30, 2020 deadline approaches, a high level delegation of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) now visiting America is lobbying against the forceful deportation of Liberians there.
Just three days before the deadline expired last March, US media reported that President Trump had extended the DED status to Liberians in the US for one more year, “a rare move from a president who has taken a hardline stance on immigration.”
The LCC’s delegation headed by its President, Bishop Kortu Brown told www.newspublictrust.com on Monday, October 21, 2019 they are lobbying against their compatriots in the US being “forcibly returned to Liberia because of the lack of the absorption capacity at the moment.”
Dr. Brown said their current mission to the US is a “follow up mission anticipated by God’s grace” with the collaboration of the Liberia Churches in the USA (LIMANA) and the National Council of Churches (NCC) USA.
NCC’s President, Dr. Jim Winkler and other American clerics are said to be on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Bishop Brown said they met Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver from the State of Missouri and discussed DED and other issues concerning Liberia in general such as education, hunger, poverty, etc. a short while ago.
The LCC President said they requested the help of the US Congress to ensure that Liberians on DED are not forcibly deported to Liberia by March 2020.
Bishop Brown said their current visit to the US is upon the invitation of the NCC USA, which recently invited the LCC to attend a Christian Unity Gathering.
“I write to invite you to attend and participate in the Christian Unity Gathering of the National Council of Churches, October 14-16, 2019, in Newport News, Virginia. This year we will mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in North America and re-dedicate ourselves to the task of ending racism. My hope is that you will participate in the ceremony we are planning on October 15 and meet with our Governing Board on October 16. Grace and Peace, Jim Winkler President and General Secretary General,” the invitation said.
The Christian Unity Gathering of the NCC in the USA ran from Oct 14-16, 2019.
Bishop Brown and the LCC delegation have been meeting with the different leaders including Dr. Agnes Aboum, Moderator of the World Council of Churches and Bishop W. Darin Moore of the AME Zion Church and Chairman, NCC.
The LCC is reaching out to both the USA Churches and Liberian churches in the USA “to strengthen collaboration and Christianity and explore opportunities for greater cooperation, including helping address some of the political, economic and social challenges we are faced,” Bishop Brown said.
While in the US, the visiting LCC delegation has also been holding meeting with leadership of the Liberia Churches in the USA or LIMANA. They include Bishop Matson, Chairperson, Rev. Dr. Moses Suah, President and Bishop Gabriel Lardner, the former President, among others.
Their discussions also centered on strengthening Christian Unity and also adverting the deportation of approximately 20,000 Liberians (Statistics supplied by Lutheran Advocacy Office in Washington DC) on soon to expired DED, TPS and DACA. The DACA program was created by former US President Barack Obama and the LCC delegation is said to be encouraging consultations on all fronts.