Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberians, a humanitarian relief program similar to TPS (Temporary Protected Status), will terminate on March 31, 2019 according to a formal memo released by President Donald Trump. Liberian DED was set to expire on March 31, 2018. President Trump announced that there will be twelve-month wind down period to ease the transition for as many as several thousand Liberians – many of whom have been in the United States for close to twenty years.

The DED program for Liberians was initiated by President Bill Clinton in 1999 and has been renewed in one form or another by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama – until now. Prior to the announcement, approximately 50 bipartisan members of Congress asked the President to extend the DED program for at least three years to allow Liberia to strengthen its infrastructure and stabilize following two ruinous civil wars and the Ebola outbreak. But President Trump responded in his memo that “Liberia is no longer experiencing armed conflict and has made significant progress in restoring stability and democratic governance.”

President Trump’s decision to terminate the program is similar to the decisions he has recently made regarding DACA and TPS for individuals from Haiti, El Salvador and Nicaragua, among others. As with DACA, the President again noted that “[o]nly Congress can legislate a permanent solution addressing the lack of an enduring lawful immigration status for those currently protected by DED who have lived and worked in the United States for many years.”

USCIS will automatically extend employment authorization documents for six months until September 30, 2018, for current Liberian DED beneficiaries who have EADs expiring on March 31, 2018. To obtain work authorization for the final six months, beneficiaries will have to apply for employment authorization. Updates on how to apply will be published in the Federal Register likely within the week.

If you have questions about verification of work authorization for Liberian beneficiaries of DED, please reach out to your Jackson Lewis attorney.

 

 

 

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Photo of Forrest G. Read IV Forrest G. Read IV

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice…

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice focuses on assisting employers in obtaining employment-based nonimmigrant visas (e.g., H-1B, L, O, TN) for foreign national employees and work-related immigrant (green card) visas, including PERM Labor Certifications, and advising employers on compliance with U.S. immigration laws and regulations. He has broad experience in advising large, mid-size and small employers on their various immigration needs and developing strategies to help them navigate through complex immigration issues. He also has particular experience in counseling employers in the health care industry and addressing immigration-related issues that arise for their broad range of health care professional employees (including advising on and obtaining employment authorization for medical residents and fellows and obtaining J-1 visa waivers for foreign national physicians completing their medical training in the United States). His immigration practice also includes defending employers in connection with Department of Labor H-1B and H-2B investigations.

Mr. Read’s employment law experience includes representing management, particularly academic medical centers in the GME context, in a wide array of workplace disputes and litigation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including matters related to discrimination, retaliation, harassment, disability, family and medical leave, various wage and hour issues, contracts, and intentional torts. He advises academic medical centers on the interplay between applicable academic law and employment law and the ramifications of what are divergent legal requirements and standards. Mr. Read also provides counsel with respect to the legal impact of competency standards for residents and trainees in GME, including situations involving discipline, remediation, and dismissal. He provides advice and guidance in the peer review process, including provision of verification and assessment of training in response to third party inquiries.

As a member of the Firm’s Corporate Diversity Counseling group, Mr. Read also has experience in providing assessments and making recommendations to corporate and institutional clients with respect to diversity and inclusion policies and initiatives, conducting related internal investigations, and shaping, developing and enforcing effective policies and initiatives to ensure consistency with client values and in furtherance of business goals and objectives.