Biden administration extending temporary legal status for 300K immigrants Trump sought to end

The Biden administration is rescinding the Trump-era termination of extending temporary legal status for thousands of immigrants from four countries, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Tuesday.

The Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua in May 2018, effective January 2020.

On Tuesday, the DHS announced an 18-month extension of TPS designations from these four countries. Beneficiaries from the countries will be able to re-register to continue their status throughout the extension.

The DHS, which said it is closely monitoring conditions to assess if the TPS designations are appropriate, is acting “relevant to the litigation challenging the now-rescinded terminations,” according to the agency.

“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,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

The DHS said the explanation of eligibility criteria, timelines and procedures necessary for current beneficiaries to re-register for TPS will be published in the Federal Register soon.

For beneficiaries from El Salvador, the extension is from Sept. 10, 2023, through March 9, 2025, and will allow about 239,000 immigrants to re-register to retain their TPS. For beneficiaries from Honduras, the extension is from Jan. 6, 2024, through July 5, 2025, and will allow about 76,000 immigrants to re-register to retain TPS.

Additionally, beneficiaries from Nepal will have an extension from Dec. 25, 2023, through June 24, 2025, and will allow 14,500 immigrants to re-register and beneficiaries from Nicaragua will have an extension from Jan. 6, 2024, through July 5, 2025, and allow about 4,000 immigrants to re-register.