US extends temporary protected status programs to migrants until June 2024

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The United States announced Thursday that it will extend the temporary protected status of migrants from six countries to mid-2024.
• The protected status will no longer expire on December 31, 2022, for citizens of El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras and Nepal.
• The program provides recipients with work permits and protection from deportation.

The United States has extended a protected status program for citizens of six countries, the immigration services said Thursday.

The Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which prevents migrants from being deported, will be extended to June 30, 2023. This means the status of citizens of Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal, will no longer expire at the end of the year, according to a document filed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The TPS program provides migrants with work permits and protection from deportation if their origin countries experience extraordinary events such as natural disasters or armed conflicts.

The program extension will help about 392,000 people, with 242,000 of them citizens of El Salvador, according to USCIS data.

Salvadoran Ambassador to the United States Milena Mayorga, tweeted “Thanks be to God” and a link to the document.

The move also gives Hondurans in the program “peace of mind for another 18 months,” according to Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina..

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the extension “to ensure its continued compliance” with orders proceeding from two ongoing court cases, said the document, which was sent to the federal register and is set to be officially published on Nov. 16.

In October, the Biden administration pulled out of settlement talks that could have provided additional protections to the TPS enrollees from the six countries. However, it could put the migrants at risk of losing their status, according to plaintiffs in one of the cases.

According to the DHS, Thursday’s decision was “consistent with DHS’s practice over the last four years.”

Democrat Senator Alex Padilla, chairman of a Judiciary subcommittee on immigration said the extension “is a huge relief” for those enrolled in the TPS. He described the extension as “a step in the right direction” but said more permanent protections were needed.

Source: Reuters