WashingtonAs the White House works to make more immigrants in the United States eligible for deportation, the Trump administration is ending the temporary status for nearly 80,000 Hondurans and Nicaraguans that has allowed them to live and work in the country for 25 years after a devastating hurricane hit Central America, according to federal government notices.
The purpose of the notices is to fulfill campaign pledges to deport large numbers of immigrants. In order to achieve this, it is targeting those who are in the country unlawfully or who have committed crimes that qualify them for deportation, as well as taking away safeguards from hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom were admitted under the Biden administration.
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People of different nationalities who are in the United States may be awarded Temporary Protected Status, which is a temporary protection that keeps them from being deported and permits them to work. This protection can be provided by the Homeland Security secretary. More persons are now eligible for deportation as a result of the Trump administration’s vigorous efforts to do away with the safeguard.
According to the administration, things have changed.
In a notification scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday in the Federal Register that Secretary Kristi Noem had examined the situation in Honduras and Nicaragua. She came to the conclusion that persons currently protected by such interim designations could go back home since things had sufficiently changed since the original 1999 ruling.
According to the government, the status, which is currently set to expire in about two months, covers about 4,000 Nicaraguans and 72,000 Hondurans in the United States. However, because many Hondurans had acquired permanent residency through other immigration routes, the TPS Alliance, which supports immigrants covered by these temporary protections, predicted that roughly 40,000 Hondurans would be impacted.
Both nations’ Temporary Protected Status ended on July 5. The notices stated that sixty days following their official publication in the Federal Register, the safeguards would end.
When circumstances in a person’s home country make it difficult for them to return, TPS is typically granted. Registration with the Department of Homeland Security is required for anyone covered by it. and they are able to work after being shielded from deportation.
It does not, however, provide them with a route to citizenship, and the secretary is required to renew it on a regular basis, usually every 18 months.
If Hondurans and Nicaraguans who are now covered by Temporary Protected Status are unable to find another way to remain in the country once their status formally expires, they risk deportation and the termination of their work permits.
Critics claim that something transient turned permanent.
Opponents claim that these extensions were simply rubber-stamped by succeeding administrations, particularly the Biden administration, and that those covered by what is meant to be a transitory status wind up remaining in the country for years.
Approximately 350,000 Venezuelans, 500,000 Haitians, over 160,000 Ukrainians, and thousands of individuals from Afghanistan, Nepal, and Cameroon have already had their TPS canceled by the Trump administration. Lawsuits are still continuing in federal courts against several of them, including Haitians, Ukrainians, and Venezuelans.
Thousands of Syrians and another 250,000 Venezuelans remain protected under TPS through September. TPS expires in December for Ethiopians, in March 2026 for Yemenis and Somalians, and in September 2026 for Salvadoreans.
The number of individuals covered by TPS increased dramatically during the Biden administration. Almost a million Haitians and Venezuelans were shielded.
People who have resided in the United States for almost thirty years may be impacted by the termination that was announced Monday, according to Jose Palma, co-coordinator at the National TPS Alliance.
They’ve started families. investments. According to Palma, the community has…. undertaken yearly background checks and has demonstrated… all of its contributions to our nation. The situation is harsh.
The protections were postponed due to litigation.
Both nations were first given temporary protections in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Despite efforts by the first Trump administration to terminate the protections, both were upheld following legal action.
In the federal register notification, Homeland Security noted that in the 26 years since Hurricane Mitch’s devastation, Honduras has undergone substantial changes.
According to the department, Honduras has recovered well from the devastation caused by the hurricane and is now a well-liked travel and real estate investment destination. According to the department, the Honduran government started the Brother, Come Home program in January with the goal of providing financial and employment assistance to Hondurans who have been deported from the United States.
Regarding Nicaragua, Noem wrote: With the assistance of the world community, Nicaragua has recovered significantly from the devastation caused by the hurricane and is currently a leading country in tourism, ecotourism, agriculture, and renewable energy.
Antonio Garcá, Honduras’ deputy minister of foreign affairs, said he was disappointed by the news on Monday.
According to Garc, they contend that Honduras has foreign investment, tourism, and its “Honduran Come Home” campaign, and that there are requirements to return. However, he said that the true cause of it was the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant mentality.
He claimed that’s how they got to power and that they’re doing it for their voters.
Francis Garc has been a TPS beneficiary for 25 of his nearly 30 years in the United States. She considers the United States to be her home nation, and all three of her adult children were born there.
Garcia, 48, who has never returned to her homeland, expressed her feelings of sadness, anxiety, and fear. I’m terrified to go back to Honduras. I wouldn’t want to, and I can’t image it.
Teofilo Martinez, 57, has spent the majority of his life in the United States, under TPS protection, just like Garcia. He had nothing when he first arrived, but he now owns his own construction business and works as a realtor.
We kindly request that our efforts and excellent behavior be taken into account,” Martinez stated. “There are no requirements for us to go back to Honduras.
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From Miami, Salomon reported. Contributions to this article came from Marlon Gonz lez in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
