ExecutiveOrdersEO
MemoMemorandumBiden · D Quiet signal

Presidential Memorandum

Extending and Expanding Eligibility for Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians

This memorandum extends Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberians in the United States through June 30, 2024, and expands eligibility to include those continuously present since May 20, 2017. It also authorizes continued employment authorization through that date and includes protections for certain individuals whose LRIF adjustment applications were denied for procedural rather than substantive reasons.

Federal Register Open PDF 87 FR 38871

Impact dates

  1. DED deferral and employment authorization expire

  2. Secretary of Homeland Security to direct Federal Register notice for employment authorization

Key directives

  • Defer removal of eligible Liberians through June 30, 2024
  • Continue employment authorization through June 30, 2024
  • Expand eligibility to those continuously present since May 20, 2017
  • Include qualifying individuals with LRIF denials for non-substantive reasons
  • Publish Federal Register notice for immediate employment authorization
  • Provide for prompt issuance of new or replacement employment authorization documents
  • Publish memorandum in Federal Register

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • DED extension effective immediately
  • Secretary of Homeland Security to direct Federal Register notice for employment authorization

Near term (90d)

  • Federal Register notice for employment authorization provisions
  • issuance of new/replacement employment authorization documents

Long term

  • DED and employment authorization expire June 30, 2024
  • LRIF status-adjustment process continuation

Risks & tensions

  • LRIF application process remains complex; procedural barriers may persist
  • No pathway to permanent status beyond LRIF; DED is temporary discretionary relief
  • Employment authorization gap risk if Federal Register notice delayed
  • Eligibility expansion to May 20, 2017 arrival date may face implementation challenges
  • Exclusion categories (particularly discretionary 'interest of the United States' determinations) create uncertainty
Presidential Memorandum: Extending and Expanding Eligibility for Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians · Executive Orders