TPS Set to End for Hondurans, Nicaraguans in U.S.

Thousands of Central American migrants living in the United States under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) may soon face deportation, following a new move by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to end the program for nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua.

According to draft notices published in the Federal Register, TPS protections for these two countries are set to expire on September 6. The decision affects approximately 72,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans currently residing in the U.S.

TPS was first granted to citizens of both countries in 1999, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch. The program has been renewed several times since then, allowing beneficiaries to live and work legally in the U.S.

However, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the termination, stating that the program was never meant to be permanent and that Honduras has sufficiently recovered from the disaster.

“TPS was designed to be temporary. Honduras has now recovered,” she said.

TPS allows foreign nationals to remain in the U.S. if their home countries are deemed unsafe due to conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions.

Advocates and immigrant rights groups are condemning the move, arguing that many TPS holders have lived in the U.S. for more than two decades, started families, and integrated into American society. They also point out that past efforts to end TPS have often been blocked by the courts.

Legal challenges to the Biden administration’s earlier TPS policies and this latest Trump-era rollback are likely, with immigration lawyers preparing to contest the decision.

If the termination goes into effect as planned in September, thousands of families could face deportation or be forced to return to countries they haven’t lived in for decades.