The upholding of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 60,000 migrants from Honduras and Nicaragua was mandated by a federal district court in San Francisco a few weeks ago. This decision coincides with ongoing litigation over their status. Their TPS designations will expire on September 8. This deadline has immense immigrant rights advocates fearing for their future in the United States.
On December 5, 2022, US District Judge Trina L. Thompson granted an order to continue TPS protections. This important decision will give the time for important, follow-on legal proceedings to develop. The TPS program was originally intended as a tool to provide temporary refuge to people from countries that were undergoing extreme upheaval. In practice, under the status quo, it jeopardizes the status of about 51,000 Hondurans and 3,000 Nicaraguans currently living in the US for decades. This impact can be attributed to the destruction brought by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
The Trump administration took away TPS designations from a number of groups. This one decision brought relief to an estimated 350,000 Venezuelans, more than 500,000 Haitians, and more than 160,000 Ukrainians. Immigrant rights advocates are condemning these unprecedented moves. They contend that the administration is methodically “de-documenting” immigrants who have built lives and families in American society.
“The Trump administration is systematically de-documenting immigrants who have lived lawfully in this country for decades, raising US-citizen children, starting businesses, and contributing to their communities,” said Jessica Bansal, an advocate for immigrant rights.
In May, the US Supreme Court cheered on the administration’s arbitrary decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans. This decision raises the stakes for Hondurans and Nicaraguans who are in the same boat. The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals just granted an emergency stay for TPS holders from those Central American countries and Nepal. This new policy follows the loss of protections for about 7,000 people who are counted in the recent removals due to recent terminations.
Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Policy at DHS, had this response to the court’s decision. She emphasized that “TPS was never meant to be a de facto asylum system, yet that is how previous administrations have used it for decades.” This announcement demonstrates the administration’s belief that TPS should not be a long-term solution for immigrants in need of a safe haven.
Kristi Noem has the authority to extend TPS. She can only do this if she determines that conditions in the migrants’ home countries are not dangerous for their return. Given the ongoing political and economic turmoil in Honduras and Nicaragua, this remains a particularly dangerous time. Further, it raises serious doubts if returning these people to their home countries is even possible.
The next markup is scheduled for November 18. Advocates continue to apply pressure in every possible direction to ensure a more permanent solution takes root for all those impacted by TPS terminations. That’s why last week a federal appeals court intervened. It’s done an emergency intervention to stay a lower court ruling that had temporarily protected 60,000 Central American and Nepalese migrants.
As the legal process drags on, millions of Americans continue to worry. They are worried that when TPS status eventually runs out, it will trigger mass deportations and family separations. The plight of these migrants highlights ongoing debates surrounding immigration policy and the responsibilities of the US government toward long-residing immigrants.