President Joe Biden’s administration has taken the initiative to extend deportation relief for approximately 900,000 immigrants from Venezuela, El Salvador, Ukraine, and Sudan. This crucial step by the administration aims to prevent any potential attempts by President-elect Donald Trump to terminate these protections.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced an extension of the enrollment period for the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. This extension will provide immigrants from those nations with an additional 18 months of protection from deportation and access to work permits.
Since assuming office in 2021, President Biden, a Democrat, has significantly expanded the eligibility criteria for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants. This status is now available to individuals who come from countries that have faced natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other extraordinary events. As a result of these changes, more than 1 million people from 17 different nations are now covered under TPS.
During his 2017-2021 term in office, Republican President Trump attempted to end the majority of TPS enrolment. However, his efforts were blocked by US courts. With his imminent return to the White House on January 20, Trump is once again expected to pursue the termination of most TPS protections, as he had promised during his campaign for a second term.
The request for comment from Trump’s transition team was not immediately responded to.
The Biden administration took action on Friday, but it did not go as far as activists and some Democrats had hoped. They did not grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to more recently arrived immigrants or individuals from other nations.
According to Todd Schulte, the president of an advocacy group, the extensions of TPS would not only enable a significant number of individuals to continue making valuable contributions to their communities, supporting their families, and bolstering the economy, but he also emphasized the need for Biden to expand TPS to include Nicaragua and other countries.
The largest population in the TPS program consists of around 600,000 eligible Venezuelans.
The Biden administration, in 2021, granted Venezuelans the status, citing the high levels of crime in Venezuela that are linked to political and economic instability under President Nicolas Maduro, who was recently sworn in for a third term.
