A controversial immigration program that has been in place for decades has recently become a hot-button issue as it looks likely to be axed or severely limited by the incoming Trump administration, and Democrats are calling on President Biden to take moves to preserve it.
Temporary Protected Status is a program established in the 1990s that allows the government to designate countries unsafe for nationals to return to, granting nationals already in the U.S. work permits and protection from deportation if they are here illegally or if their legal status expires.
The Biden administration designated or re-designated a number of countries for TPS, including Venezuela, Haiti, Afghanistan and others, allowing hundreds of thousands of nationals to remain in the U.S. as a result. There are currently 17 countries designated for TPS.
‘LEGAL AUTHORITY’: SENATE DEMS DEMAND BIDEN EXTEND PROTECTIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AHEAD OF TRUMP ADMIN
Migrants board a city bus to a shelter intake center after traveling on a bus from Del Rio, Texas, to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City on May 13, 2023. (Victor J. Blue)
The first Trump administration sought to wind down TPS for a number of countries, but it was caught up in a yearslong court battle launched by left-wing civil rights groups on the matter.
TPS again became a major issue in 2024 as Republicans and conservatives drew attention to mass migration via humanitarian parole from Haiti. Migrants were coming in via the use of the CBP One app and a program that allowed up to 30,000 migrants from four countries a month into the U.S. They could then be eligible for TPS if they arrived before the country was re-designated.
There were widespread reports of Haitian migrants flooding towns in Ohio and elsewhere, which were picked up by former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. Trump promised to revoke TPS for Haiti earlier this year.
“It’s been overrun. You can’t do that to people. I’d…
