Demonstrators call on Biden to extend controversial immigration program, Trump says he will end it
AND controversial immigration program which has been in place for decades has recently become a hot-button issue as the incoming Trump administration appears likely to repeal or severely curtail it, and Democrats are calling on President Biden to take steps to preserve it.
Temporary Protected Status is a program established in the 1990s that allows the government to designate countries unsafe for citizens to return to, giving citizens already in the US work permits and protection from deportation if they are here illegally or if their legal status expires.
The Biden administration has designated or re-designated a number of countries for TPS, including Venezuela, Haiti, Afghanistan and others, allowing hundreds of thousands of citizens to remain in the US as a result. There are currently 17 countries designated for TPS.
Migrants board a city bus to a shelter reception center after traveling by bus from Del Rio, Texas to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York on May 13, 2023. (Victor J. Blue)
The first Trump administration sought to end TPS for a number of countries, but was caught up in a years-long court battle over the issue by left-wing civil rights groups.
TPS became a major issue again in 2024 as Republicans and conservatives turned their attention to mass migration via humanitarian parole from Haiti. The migrants came through the CBP One application and a program that allowed up to 30,000 migrants from four countries a month into the US. Then they could be eligible for TPS if they arrived before the country was reassigned.
There have been widespread reports of Haitian migrants flooding into cities in Ohio and elsewhere, picked up by former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. Trump promised to revoke TPS for Haiti earlier this year.
“He was run over. You can’t do that to people. I would revoke it [TPS]and I would bring [the migrants] back to their country,” he said NewsNation when we talk about Springfield, Ohio.
described by Vance TPS as “a government edict that says you’re not allowed to deport people anymore.” Conservatives have long complained that the constant extensions of TPS mean it is not as “temporary” as claimed.
President-elect Trump (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images/File)
Republicans have taken steps to limit the program in Congress. Sen.-elect Jim Banks, R-Ind.introduced a bill that limits TPS appointments by requiring Congress to approve them for 12-month terms and requiring additional congressional action to extend them. Trump has promised to launch a mass deportation operation, and that is expected to be followed by restrictions on TPS and other immigration benefits.
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With that looming, Democrats are urging Biden to expand protections under TPS and other programs to soften the impact of the incoming administration.
“We are writing now because the time to secure and finalize your administration’s policies is rapidly closing,” the Democrats said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.Biden said in a letter this month.
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“We urge you to act decisively between now and the president-elect’s inauguration to complete the important work of the past four years and protect immigrant families.”
So far, however, there have been no changes to TPS from the Biden administration or any indication that any reappointments or extensions are imminent.
