Biden Admin Rescinds Trump-Era Policy, Extends ‘Temporary Protected Status’ For 300K Illegal Immigrants

More than 300,000 people who entered the U.S. illegally from four different countries will be safe from deportation for another 18 months after the Biden administration rescinded a Trump-era immigration policy Tuesday. 

Illegal immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal can remain in the U.S. under a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) after President Joe Biden rescinded former President Donald Trump’s decision to end TPS for people from the four countries in 2018, The Hill reported. The policy reversal was announced by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, citing “environmental disasters” as the reason for allowing these specific foreigners to remain in the U.S. 

“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,” Mayorkas said. 

TPS only allows foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. and doesn’t give them a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in June 2021 that those in the TPS program are ineligible to apply for a green card.

Trump attempted to end TPS benefits beginning in 2020, but the move was held up in federal courts before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals finally upheld Trump’s policy in September 2020. The Trump administration argued that most of the countries benefitting from TPS had recovered from the natural disasters and conflicts for which the policy was created. 

Those eligible to remain in the country under Biden’s renewed TPS policy will have to re-register with the federal government, the DHS said. Around 239,000 beneficiaries from El Salvador can have their stays extended from September 10, 2023, to March 9, 2025, and about 76,000 Honduran nationals and 4,000 Nicaraguans can now stay in the U.S. until July 5, 2025. More than 14,000 beneficiaries from Nepal can have their TPS extended from December 25, 2023, to June 24, 2025, according to The Hill.

The Biden administration’s decision comes as illegal immigration remains a hot topic nationwide. Some top administration officials opposed expanding TPS eligibility to additional foreigners because of their concerns of encouraging more people to unlawfully cross the southern border as Biden faces an illegal immigration crisis, sources familiar with the deliberations told CBS News. 

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An estimated 1.5 million illegal immigrant gotaways have been recorded since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. Meanwhile, 415,000 total gotaways were reported for 2018, 2019, and 2020 under the Trump administration.