DHS extends Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, Central Americans and others
At least 400,000 immigrants from six countries, including Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua, who have been allowed to temporarily live and work in the United States, are getting their Temporary Protected Status benefits automatically extended for 15 months by the Department of Homeland Security.
The extension means that the TPS beneficiaries, who also include nationals of Sudan and Nepal, can continue to legally live and work in the United States and, for now, avoid being placed in deportation proceedings.
The 15-month automatic extension decision was announced by DHS Thursday and will be filed in the Federal Register. The extension is part of DHS’ compliance with various orders issued by federal district courts in three separate federal lawsuits. The lawsuits were first filed under the Trump administration as it tried to end TPS designation for Haiti, Central American nations and others, and it has since been extended to the Biden administration.
If current TPS holders continue to meet all the individual requirements for eligibility, the renewal will be automatic, free of charge and applicants will not need to file any applications to maintain their TPS. TPS-related documents will be automatically extended through Dec. 31, 2022.
DHS, which recently issued a new designation of TPS for Haiti, said eligible individuals whose TPS under the Haiti designation is presently continued by court orders and the new Federal Register notice, are strongly encouraged to apply for Haiti TPS under the recently announced new designation. This will ensure their TPS will continue if the courts end their injunctions.
In addition, eligible individuals who do not apply for the new Haiti TPS designation during the initial registration period may be prohibited from filing a late initial registration during any subsequent extension of the designation if they do not meet certain conditions.
Steven Forester, a Miami-based advocate, said the announcement is good news because now, instead of a nine-month extension, TPS beneficiaries have more than a year. Still he said, there needs to be comprehensive immigration reform from Congress so that individuals enrolled in the program can be at ease over their employment status and concerns about deportation.
Oscar Rodriguez, a TPS holder from New York and coordinator for New York City TPS Committee, said while the news is welcome he doesn’t consider it a victory.
“We continue to wait for a full redesignation and expansion of the TPS program which would benefit millions of migrants and refugees,” he said. “We are also expecting that this will finally be the year where Congress delivers on long-awaited immigration reform.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 7:49 PM.
