URJ and 25 other Jewish Organizations Send Letter to Biden Administration Urging Extension of Temporary Protected Status

January 16, 2025, Washington - On behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism, and 25 additional Jewish organizations, the following letter was shared with the Biden administration urging the extension of Temporary Protected Status. 

Dear President Biden,

On behalf of the undersigned 26 Jewish organizations from across the United States, we write to urge you to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for individuals seeking refuge from severe humanitarian crises in their home countries. We applaud your expansion of TPS for individuals from Ukraine, Venezuela, El Salvador, and Sudan. However, we urge you to continue to expand TPS for all those at risk of deportation to countries experiencing severe humanitarian crises. 

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is designated to individuals from countries that have been deemed unsafe to return to. Extending TPS would protect hundreds of thousands of people already living and working in the United States as business owners, essential workers, and valued neighbors, from being forcibly returned to situations of war, natural disasters, and other crises. Currently, TPS status will expire for thousands of recipients in the first few months of 2025, under an incoming administration that cannot be relied upon to guarantee continued legal status for these individuals. As crises continue to worsen around the world, we cannot in good conscience allow TPS recipients to be sent back to their countries of origin. Many of these individuals would be sent back after having lived in the United States for decades as engaged members of our communities. 

No less than 36 times, the Torah instructs us on how to treat the ger, the foreigner among us. Our sacred text commands, "The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Leviticus 19:34)." Guided by this repeated call to love the stranger, we are committed to fixing our fractured immigration system and fighting for just, compassionate, and equitable immigration policies. Our faith and history also teach us to hold compassion for and protect those experiencing forced displacement, as our ancestors faced a similar plight. We read in Genesis that not only did Abraham allow three guests to enter his tent, but he also ran towards them, modeling the enthusiasm with which we should embrace those seeking refuge (Genesis 18:1-5). The history of our people offers a painful reminder of the destructive and deadly consequences of inaction or denial of asylum to those in need. Our religious tradition and our history compel us to raise our voices on behalf of TPS recipients seeking extensions of their status. 

Please utilize your authority to extend TPS status for current recipients to protect hundreds of thousands of individuals from the threat of mass deportation and a forcible return to unsafe living conditions. 

Sincerely, 

Union for Reform Judaism 
American Jewish World Service 
Arizona Jews for Justice 
Avodah 
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action 
Carolina Jews for Justice 
HIAS 
IKAR 
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action 
Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice NW 
Jewish Community Action 
Jewish Council for Public Affairs 
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs 
Jewish Labor Committee 
Jewish Women International 
Jewish World Watch 
Kesher Pittsburgh 
Kirva 
National Council of Jewish Women 
Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies 
Reconstructing Judaism 
Society for Humanistic Judaism 
T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights 
The Shalom Center 
The Workers Circle 
Uri L'Tzedek