Minnesota is leading the nation in providing protection for Ecuadorian citizens. A resolution passed by the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Columbia Heights, aims to enhance the immigration status of Ecuadorian residents.
The resolution supports temporary protection status for Ecuadorians fleeing the violence, political persecution and economic and social disasters in their country.
It's not that they want to migrate to the US. They have nowhere else to go. Yet once here, their opportunities are limited says Ecuadorian Collective's Grace Puchaicela.
"I do have friends who have like illegal status here, and I know how they suffer to get a job, how they suffer to go to school, and how they suffer and lack opportunities," Puchaicela explains.
Many families live in fear because they're not protected like other immigrants.
"Multiple people, they don't want to come here and speak, they don't want to show their faces because they are fearful that they will be deported," Puchaicela says.
The resolution will provide opportunities to get jobs and help them pay for food and rent, but they say there's still work that needs to be done.
"What we're asking for is President Biden, our U.S. Senators, and any Congress-people that haven't signed on to this legislation that would grant Ecuador TPS status to do so," says Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez.
The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country's nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.
In February a bill was introduced in the U.S. House to provide TPS status to Ecuadorians, noting that what had been a stable country and government, has more recently been gripped by an unprecedented wave of violence due to the country’s infiltration by organized crime and drug-trafficking gangs.