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Haitians, Salvadorans sue Trump

Immigrants allege decision to end protections from deportation were racially motivated

BOSTON — Haitian and Salvadoran immigrants sued President Donald Trump on Thursday, arguing that the Republican administration’s decision to end special protections shielding them from deportation was racially motivated.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston seeks to block the administration from terminating temporary protected status for thousands of immigrants from Haiti and El Salvador. It claims Trump’s move to rescind the program was rooted in animus against immigrants of color, citing comments he made on the campaign trail and in office.

“Today we are drawing a line in the sand and saying that governmental policy cannot be based in bias and discrimination,” said Oren Sellstrom, litigation director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, which filed the complaint.

Temporary protected status provides safe havens for people from countries experiencing armed conflicts, natural disasters and other challenges. The program has been continuously extended for Haitians since a 2010 earthquake. Protections for El Salvadorans have been in place since earthquakes devastated the country in 2001.

The Department of Homeland Security has said that conditions in Haiti have improved significantly and the country is now able to “safely receive traditional levels of returned citizens.” The Trump administration said last month that El Salvador has received significant international aid to recover from the earthquake, and homes, schools and hospitals there have been

rebuilt.

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