Chief Minister of Montserrat, Dr Lowell Lewis

The Chief Minister has been discussing the matter with Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Democrat Charles Rangel, and Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Democrat Bennie Thompson.

Both Democratic Congressmen have given a commitment that they will consider looking at re-introducing the bill which was tabled in the House of Representatives in 2004, for a further extension of the programme to Montserratians living in the United States.

The US Government’s TPS program for Montserratians came into effect in August 1997, because of the ongoing volcanic eruptions which caused a substantial, but temporary, disruption to living conditions that rendered Montserrat unable, temporarily, to adequately handle the return of nationals.

In July 2004, Tom Ridge, United States Secretary of Homeland Security officially announced the termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for nationals from Montserrat, after a review of the current volcanic situation on Montserrat and after consultation with appropriate government agencies, found that Montserrat no longer continued to meet the conditions for designation under the TPS program.