First, there is no cut off date so a person can remain on TPS for 30 years in a country. It would be better to put in place that if a person’s country has not returned to some semblance of stability within perhaps 8 years, then that person is automatically given residency. That is more humane.

Second, the work permit is tied to the TPS. The TPS guidelines states that the Attorney General should redesignate a country for TPS status 60 days before the TPS expires for that year. Well, Janet Reno and the others after her would wait until a week before it ends, or at times two weeks after it is terminated to renew the TPS. By that time, hundreds have lost their jobs as it would be illegal to continue to hire them.

Third, it is a question of fairness. Thousands of Eastern Europeans were given permanent residency before they even set foot in the US when some of their countries were at war. Thousands of Chinese here were giving residency because of the Tiananmen Square incident (which was hardly a civil war). By Sept. 2008 there were more than 20,000 refugees accepted from East Asia and about 30,00 from Near east and South Asia. The unallocated reserve is about 8,000. Surely that can be given to the Liberians? By the end of March of this year, almost 40,000 Near East and South Asia refugees were admitted in the US.
http://www.rcusa.org/index.php?page=refugee-admissions-figures

For those who say that this is not the business of the US, a bit of history:

During WWII Liberia’s largest trading partner was Germany. The Germans built roads and hospitals in Liberia. When the war started. at great cost, Liberia took the side of the Allies because of our “historical ties.” A German war boat came to the Liberian port and demanded that the Liberian government hand over all Americans living in Liberia. Liberia refused and the Germans bombed the Liberian seaport (Liberia’s main source of income). After the war, when Liberia appealed to the US to help rebuild its port, the US made Liberia take out a loan. No Marshall Plan here! Liberia was the home of the Voice of America radio station, With its vast Firestone plantation, Liberia provided latex and rubber to the US and others during the war as Japan had possession of all the other rubber producing countries. US war planes and gun boats can land in Liberia with minimal notice. When the democratically elected government of William Tolbert was overthrown in Liberia, the US helped the dictator Samuel Doe, and during Doe’s reign of terror, from 1980-1990, the Liberian government received more aid (mostly in arms) from the US government than it had ever received in its more than 100 years existence. The war that resulted was a direct consequence of that.

Now, lets talk about fairness and TPS.

If you want to hear the voices of some of the human beings who have made their homes in Minnesota after fleeing the Liberian conflict, you could watch this video, https://www.trcofliberia.org/key-people-speak/MAHR-statement-taking-video, where some of them talk about giving testimony for the Liberian Truth Commission.

Change is traumatic, whether it be entering or leaving this country. This country cannot afford to accept everyone who would become a refugee from strife, as we’d be quickly overburdened by the support that such people need to enter a more sophisticated society, which would include vast sums of precious and scarce taxpayer dollars. It is obviously impractical to accept everyone, and if what you propose is permitted, I can assure you that the public would eventually feel this new burden and acceptance of refugees would eventually come to a standstill, and people who are actually experiencing immediate suffering will have nowhere to go, even on a temporary basis. Americans will see that “temporary” is not truly temporary at all, and act accordingly.

Our government has to make the hard decisions; look out for the best interests of our citizens, or accept a lower standard of living for citizens as vast sums go to accepting foreigners who can’t manage their own conflicts.