Dear Secretary Mayorkas,

We urge you to redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nepali nationals in the U.S.

Nepal remains unsafe for return due to the continuing effects of the 2015 earthquake along with COVID-19 impacts. But the current TPS only covers those who have been in the United States since June 24, 2015. There are approximately 10,160 Nepali TPS holders, but redesignation would protect upwards of 36,795 additional people who fled conditions in Nepal after the 2015 cut-off date. The humanitarian crisis persists, and there is no possibility for Nepali nationals to safely return at this time.

Nepal meets the statutory conditions for TPS on multiple grounds, as the country is unsafe for return due to the continuing effects of a devastating earthquake that make the country unable to handle the return of its nationals, as well as additional extraordinary and temporary conditions. The political instability, inequitable distribution of recovery funds, and catastrophic flooding in 2017 have widened the cracks in Nepal’s infrastructure, leaving the country vulnerable to economic, political, and societal shocks.

The global COVID-19 pandemic, political turmoil, and further record-level flooding contributed to the displacement of nearly four million people across northern India and Nepal. In May, the U.S. State Department listed Nepal as the highest level travel advisory, instructing travelers not to travel to Nepal due to the high risk of COVID-19 and political violence.

Since adopting a new constitution in 2015, Nepal has cycled through four governments in six years. The current government has proposed numerous laws to curtail the freedom of expression and has wielded the police and military against Nepali citizens. But the latest data published by the Nepali National Human Rights Commission says otherwise. It reported nearly three hundred counts of violence against civilians by military personnel, police, and former Maoist insurgents, which the government failed to investigate. The U.S. State Department’s annual human rights report on Nepal details 37 pages of human rights abuses, particularly against vulnerable populations like women, children, inmates, Tibetan refugees, and members of the Dalit minority.

On a recent survey of current Nepali TPS holders, conducted by Adhikaar in partnership with the Center for American Progress (CAP) and the U.S. Immigration Policy Center (USIPC) at the University of California, San Diego. It showed that 81.5 percent were concerned with the physical safety of themselves and their family should they be returned to Nepal.

While some countries are on their way to COVID-19 recovery, Nepal hits its peak infection rate just this May. Health officials reported an incredible daily positivity rate of 50 percent, with infections rising from 150 people per day to over 9,300 per day in one month. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention currently advises against all travel to Nepal and places that are on the highest risk level for contracting COVID-19. The prime minister of Nepal, K.P. Sharma Oli, said that though the government is making an effort toward prevention and treatment, “due to the constraints of resources and infrastructure, the pandemic is turning out to be an overwhelming burden.”

Nepal is in no condition to receive over 36,000 Nepalis and their families living in the United States. The administration must redesignate Nepal for TPS and extend vital humanitarian protection to those who need it.

We also emphasize the importance of redesignation for U.S. citizens and the United States as a whole. Extending TPS to thousands of Nepalis also protects thousands of U.S.-citizen children of Nepali TPS holders and prevents family separation should a parent be deported to dangerous conditions. Current Nepali TPS holders have worked on the frontlines during the pandemic as doctors, nurses, health aides, grocery store clerks, restaurant workers, and package delivery personnel, keeping our country running, safe, clean, and healthy.

We request that you redesignate TPS for Nepal and review for redesignation all other countries currently with TPS protections, publish a timely Federal Register Notice, and launch a culturally competent public information campaign to notify the impacted community of the decision and any actions that they must take to successfully apply. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, we also call for at least a 180-day registration period for both current TPS holders and those who would benefit under the redesignation.

Thank you,