Millions at risk as Donald Trump vows to end Temporary Protected Status; Immigrant communities in panic

More than a million immigrants in the United States face an uncertain future as the Joe Biden administration’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations hang in the balance, with President-elect Donald Trump and his administration pledging to scale back or end the program. 

TPS, which allows individuals from countries deemed unsafe to live and work legally in the US, has been a lifeline for over a million people from nations like Venezuela, Haiti, Sudan, and Afghanistan. But with Trump’s upcoming policies promising mass deportations and a rollback of TPS protections, many families and communities are bracing for significant change.

Among those at risk is Maribel Hidalgo, a Venezuelan immigrant, left her homeland a year ago, enduring a challenging journey with her 1-year-old son through Panama’s treacherous Darien Gap and Mexico, before reaching the US. 

President-elect Donald Trump, along with Vice President-elect JD Vance, has vowed to scale back TPS and conduct widespread deportations. They argue that programs like TPS and humanitarian parole, which protect over a million immigrants, should be reduced. Trump claimed unverified allegations that Haitian TPS holders in Springfield, Ohio, were “eating their neighbors’ pets” and raised concerns about Venezuelan gangs allegedly taking over apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado.

Hidalgo, now living in a New York migrant hotel, voiced her fears as she looked at her sleeping son. “My only hope was TPS,” she said. "After everything we went through, I’m scared of being sent back." Venezuelans, Haitians, and Salvadorans represent the largest groups protected under TPS, with a lot at risk.

Haiti, recently plagued by escalating violence, saw its international airport shut down this week as gangs attacked a landing commercial flight. The Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily barred U.S. airlines from flying there. Vania André, editor-in-chief of The Haitian Times, emphasized, "Sending thousands back to Haiti is not an option. The country is overwhelmed by gang violence and cannot support more people.”

TPS designations are generally valid for up to 18 months, with extensions often granted. However, expiration looms for certain countries, with El Salvador’s designation ending in March, and Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela in April. Though federal regulations allow for a designation’s termination before expiration, this requires a 60-day notice, a rare move that hasn’t yet been done.

TPS is similar to the Deferred Enforcement Departure Program, which Trump previously used to extend protections for Venezuelans in 2021, shielding 145,000 people for 18 months. 

Attorney Ahilan T Arulanantham, who previously succeeded in challenging Trump’s attempts to let TPS expire for several countries, expects the president-elect will likely make another effort to reduce TPS protections.

“It's possible that some people in his administration will recognize that stripping employment authorization for more than a million people, many of whom have lived in this country for decades, is not good policy" and economically disastrous, said Arulanantham, who teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, and helps direct its Center for Immigration Law and Policy. “But nothing in Trump’s history suggests that they would care about such considerations.”

Arulanantham added that depending on the actions of the incoming administration, another legal challenge is “absolutely” likely.

During Trump’s prior term, courts intervened to block the expiration of TPS for several countries, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas later extending protections under Biden.

As President Biden's term winds down, advocates are urging him to extend TPS to Nicaraguans affected by political persecution under President Daniel Ortega’s government. Only about 3,000 Nicaraguans still benefit from the protections originally granted in 1998 after Hurricane Mitch.

Maria Bilbao, from the American Friends Service Committee, argued that extending protections to Nicaraguans is a moral responsibility. Elena, a 46-year-old Nicaraguan who has lived in the U.S. for 25 years without legal status, called for immediate action, fearing deportation. “He should do it now,” she said.

(With AP inputs)