Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) has introduced legislation to protect Iranians with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States.
The Iranian Temporary Immigration Relief Act grants and retains TPS for eligible Iranian nationals already in the United States, grants them work authorization, and maintains lawful presence for individuals whose status remains pending during the USCIS adjudication pause.
The bill does not, however, apply to individuals connected to the Islamic Republic regime or their family members.
"No one who has followed U.S. immigration law should lose their legal status or livelihood because the Trump Administration refuses to process their case," said Rep. Ansari in a press release. "Creating deliberate processing delays for lawfully present individuals who have complied with every requirement is unjust. I'm introducing my Iranian Temporary Immigration Relief Act to protect Iranian immigrants who are already here legally and are contributing to our communities and economy, and would face serious danger if forced to return while ongoing conflict and repression persist in Iran."
Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY), the bill's cosponsor, said, "People who followed the law, passed background checks, and built lives contributing to our economy and communities should not lose their legal status because of bureaucratic delays and political turmoil beyond their control."
"As the war continues and the Iranian regime intensifies its brutal repression of its own people, forcing lawfully present Iranian nationals back into the hands of the very regime they fled is both cruel and counterproductive," Rep. Suozzi continued. "This narrowly tailored, temporary, and carefully vetted legislation protects individuals who played by the rules, strengthens our economy by retaining talented and highly skilled contributors, and prevents civilians from paying the price for administrative backlog."
Rep. Ansari previously spearheaded a letter in April to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director Joseph Edlow, and acting USCIS Director Todd Lyons, urging protections for Iranians in the U.S.
