The Department of Homeland Security, under President Joe Biden, has extended temporary amnesty to more than 300,000. These foreign nationals are living in the United States and would be considered illegal aliens if not granted this status.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced that the agency will rescind the former President Trump’s decision to terminate Temporary Protection Status (TPS), which is a quasi amnesty for Hondurans in the U.S., El Salvadorans in El Salvador, Nicaruguans and Nepalese.
About 333,500 citizens from the four countries can extend their TPS status by 18 months, or up to July 2025 in some cases. Mayorkas said that:
“With the extension of Temporary Protection Status, we can offer continued protection and safety to current beneficiaries, who are nationals from El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, who are currently in the United States but cannot return due to the effects of environmental disasters.”
Although TPS was originally intended to be a temporary program, the federal government effectively has made it permanent. TPS is in place, for example, since 2001 for El Salvador, since 1998 for Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal, and since June 2015.
El Salvador is the country with the largest number of foreigners, 239,900, who are shielded from being deported and are rewarded with work permits.
TPS was created first under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990. It prevents federal immigration officers from deporting people from countries where the federal government has declared famine, natural disasters, or war.
TPS was created by the Clinton administration and has since been renewed for many countries under the Clinton, Bush Obama, Trump and Biden administrations.