{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://kennedy.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2336", "Kennedy Leads Members of Congress in Letter Urging Trump Administration Reverse Termination of Burma TPS", "2025-12-10", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "LA", "John Kennedy", "K000393", "kennedy.house.gov", "kennedy", "https://kennedy.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Kennedy Joined by 11 House Democratic Colleagues in Letter Demanding Trump Change Course on Revoking Temporary Protected Status for Burma\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) led fellow Members of Congress in sending a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State urging the Trump administration to reverse its recent decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burma.\n\nIn the letter, Kennedy outlines the dire and worsening humanitarian conditions in Burma, where the military junta continues to commit widespread abuses, block humanitarian aid, and destabilize communities through violence, forced displacement, and political oppression. The administration\u2019s decision threatens more than 4,000 Burmese nationals living legally in the United States \u2013 people who contribute to local economies, raise families, and call communities like Western New York home.\n\nKennedy emphasized that ending TPS for Burma will have real, immediate consequences for families across the country.\n\n\u201cWestern New Yorkers know firsthand that our community is stronger when we protect families who are fleeing violence and working hard to build their lives here,\u201d said Congressman Kennedy. \u201cStripping TPS from our Burmese neighbors sends them back to danger and tears apart the communities they\u2019ve strengthened, the workplaces they sustain, and the local economies they help grow. This heartless decision is wrong on the facts, wrong for our national interests, and deeply wrong for the innocent families who will be forced back into harm\u2019s way.\u201d\n\nKennedy\u2019s letter details ongoing violence, civilian displacement, restrictions on humanitarian relief, and major natural disasters that have exacerbated instability in Burma. Citing reports from the United Nations and U.S. Department of State, the letter underscores that conditions remain far too dangerous for individuals to return safely, despite the administration\u2019s claims that the situation may soon improve. For Western New York\u2019s vibrant Burmese community, Kennedy noted that TPS has enabled families to fully participate in the local workforce, open small businesses, support their children in school, and contribute to the region\u2019s long-term growth. Ending these protections would threaten not only their safety, but also the stability and economic vitality of neighborhoods across Buffalo and the greater area.\n\nThe letter calls on the administration to reverse its decision immediately and redesignate TPS for Burma in light of clear, ongoing humanitarian need.\n\nFull text of the letter can be found below:\n\nThe Honorable Kristi Noem\n\nU.S. Department of Homeland Security\n\n2707 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, S.E.\n\nWashington, D.C. 20528\n\nThe Honorable Marco Rubio\n\nU.S. Department of State\n\n2201 C Street NW\n\nWashington, D.C. 20520\n\nSecretary Noem and Secretary Rubio,\n\nWe write to express deep concern regarding this administration\u2019s recent termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burma. Currently, it is estimated that over 4,000 Burmese citizens reside in the U.S. with TPS, relying on this legal designation as a lifeline to support their families, contribute to the economy, and avoid return to a country plagued by civil unrest, violence, corruption, and instability. Accordingly, we urge the administration to immediately reverse its decision to end TPS for Burma and instead redesignate status for the thousands of Burmese nationals currently living and working in the U.S. lawfully.\n\nAs you know, in February 2021, a military junta in Burma seized power from a democratically elected government, thrusting the country into a civil war, political upheaval, and dire humanitarian conditions. Four years later, ethnic groups and pro-democracy coalitions continue to clash with the junta in efforts to fight back against military rule, and as such, the conditions in Burma continue to deteriorate. As recently as last month, a United Nations independent council that investigates crimes in Burma warned that \u201cthe frequency and severity of international crimes\u201d continues to escalate. This includes abuses during military detention, attacks on hospitals, places of worship, and schools, and civilian starvation as a result of continued conflict. Additionally, a 2024 report by the U.S. Department of State concluded similar findings of abuses, including disappearances, unlawful killings, forced labor, and illegal recruitment of children, among others.\n\nFurther compounding an already devastating humanitarian crisis, earthquakes hit central Burma in March of this year, leaving roughly 200,000 people homeless. Following the natural disaster, military forces reportedly blocked humanitarian aid, threatened relief workers, and capitalized on the already delicate situation to conduct civilian airstrikes, leaving more than half of western Rakhine state families unable to meet basic needs. In addition to an estimated 21.5 million Burmese citizens in need of humanitarian assistance such as food, shelter, sanitation, and water, the United Nations projects that 3.5 million individuals are internally displaced.\n\nSince 1990, the law has allowed foreign nationals from countries with severe civil unrest, violence, or natural disasters to remain in the country legally under TPS. Just weeks after the military takeover in February 2021, the federal government designated TPS for Burma and renewed the status for individuals in the U.S. twice thereafter due to worsening conditions in the country.[1] This lifesaving designation has allowed an estimated 4,000 Burmese individuals to remain in the U.S. safely and lawfully, protected from forced return to a country wrought with life-threatening conditions.\n\nAs evidenced above, this humanitarian crisis has not changed despite the administration\u2019s cancellation of TPS, making Burma unsafe for return. As a result, 4,000 Burmese nationals living in the U.S. and covered by TPS will face deportation on January 26, 2026, back to a country that they likely will no longer recognize, and where they will have little to no quality of life. Further, this administration\u2019s justification for TPS cancellation is purely based on speculation that conditions in the country may improve. In its recent decision, DHS cited the end of a state of emergency, a \u201ctimeline\u201d for elections, and a \u201ccredible\u201d ceasefire agreement as promises for Burma\u2019s future, with a total disregard for the current devastating humanitarian conditions on the ground.[2]\n\nIn communities across the U.S., Burmese nationals with TPS contribute to their local economies, start businesses, and raise families, working towards a future they could not currently sustain safely in their home country. From Western New York to Indianapolis, regions with thriving Burmese communities risk being upended should this administration continue with its cancellation of TPS. Accordingly, we urge the Trump administration to immediately reverse the cancellation of TPS for Burmese nationals and redesignate status in line with continued conflict and humanitarian devastation in Burma.\n\nSincerely,\n\n###\n\n[1] Department of Homeland Security. Secretary Mayorkas Designates Burma for Temporary Protected Status. March 21, 2021. https://www.dhs.gov/archive/news/2021/03/12/secretary-mayorkas-designates-burma-temporary-protected-status", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://kennedy.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2336"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9753899648785591, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}