Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday it was reinstating the policy of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of immigrants that had been ended under the Trump Administration.
The renewed policy impacts immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua and “the extension of TPS for these for countries for 18 months,” DHS said in a press release.
TPS is granted to eligible foreign-born individuals who are unable to return to their home countries safely.
According to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, immigrants from the four countries in Tuesday’s announcement qualify since they cannot “return [home] because of the impacts of environmental disasters.”
The Trump Administration had ended TPS for these four nations in May 2018, effective January 2020.
DHS said it is closely monitoring conditions to assess if the TPS designations are appropriate, and that the agency is acting “relevant to the litigation challenging the now-rescinded terminations.”
The agency added that criteria, timelines, and procedures necessary for eligible immigrants to re-register would soon be published in the Federal Register.
