Homeland Security reinstates protection status for over 300,000 immigrants

The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday announced that it would rescind policies put in place by the administration of former President Donald Trump that ended Temporary Protected Status designations the agency had in place for people from four countries. Instead, protected status for migrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua will continue through 2025, affecting an estimated 334,000 people living in the United States.

The administration did not move to expand the program, as some immigration advocacy groups and Democratic members of Congress have urged.

Temporary Protected Status designations allow migrants to live and work in the country if their home nations are considered unsafe. The program was established by Congress in 1990 under President George H.W. Bush.

“Through the extension of Temporary Protected Status, we are able to offer continued safety and protection to current beneficiaries who are nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua who are already present in the United States and cannot return because of the impacts of environmental disasters. We will continue to offer support to them through this temporary form of humanitarian relief,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement announcing the decision.

Since January 2021, President Joe Biden’s administration has maintained protected status for people from six countries that Trump sought to cut off from the program: Haiti and Sudan, in addition to the countries announced on Tuesday. The administration has also designated protected status for nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Cameroon, Ukraine, and Venezuela.

The extension of protected status was supported by several groups that advocate for immigrant rights, but was also criticized for not expanding protections to more recipients. Advocates had previously called on the administration to expand temporary status, citing conditions in those nations – including political unrest and climate change – that would make it dangerous for migrants to return. The Biden administration’s policy will apply to people who are already beneficiaries, not new ones.

“We are relieved that over 300,000 individuals will rest more comfortably tonight knowing that their lawful status has been extended into 2025,” said Kerri Talbot, deputy director of Immigration Hub, in a statement. “The president can and should meet this moment and redesignate TPS for Nicaragua and Venezuela nationals in the United States.”

“Stop leading from fear and use your executive authority to lean in and implement the policies that would actually improve our immigration system, strengthen our economy and benefit our communities,” Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice, said in a release.

Biden has previously called on Congress to reform the immigration system, including the creation of a pathway to citizenship for migrants currently living in the United States. Biden proposed the U.S. Citizenship Act with these reforms on his first day in office, but it has not come up for a vote. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) reintroduced the legislation on May 10.

Most of the people covered by Temporary Protected Status have lived in America for decades and are located in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories, according to a November 2022 report from the Congressional Research Service.

If the status had been rescinded, the decision would have directly had an impact on thousands who could have been targeted for deportation. It would also have affected their immediate and extended families, including children. A 2017 study from the Center for Migration Studies estimated that beneficiaries had given birth to 273,000 children born in the U.S.

Trump attempted to end the Temporary Protected Status program for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Sudan, Haiti, and Nicaragua.

The actions were challenged in federal court, but were ultimately approved by the 9th Circuit Appeals Court in September 2020.

Ahilan Arulanantham, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs who challenged the Trump administration’s policies, told CBS News that the Biden administration’s announcement was “an enormous, hard-fought victory for the TPS community.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.