The administration of Donald Trump announced the elimination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras and Nicaragua. This ends a program that has shielded approximately 76,000 immigrants from these Central American countries from deportation for over 25 years.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem argued that TPS for both countries was no longer necessary, stating that conditions had improved significantly and that they could now receive their nationals. The measure will take effect on September 6, following a 60-day period after its publication in the Federal Register.
The termination will affect an estimated 72,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans who have had legal status since 1999, according to official notices published Monday.
The government’s argument
The Department of Homeland Security justified the decision by stating that both countries “no longer meet the criteria for TPS designation.” Washington had originally granted this protection after the devastating impact of Hurricane Mitch in October 1998, which left over 11,300 dead in Central America, including nearly 7,000 in Honduras and almost 4,000 in Nicaragua.
According to DHS, since then there have been “notable improvements” in conditions in both countries that “allow for the safe return of their citizens.” The department noted that Nicaragua “is an emerging leader in tourism, ecotourism, agriculture, and renewable energy,” while “new infrastructure projects are set to transform Honduras and create jobs.”
The impact on communities
The measure will particularly affect immigrants in Florida, where one in three of the over 1 million TPS beneficiaries in the U.S. resides, according to a Congressional report. The loss of legal status, which had a renewal deadline of last Saturday, July 5, poses a direct threat to thousands of families who have built their lives in the United States.
TPS beneficiaries can live and work legally in the U.S. while under this protection, which is reviewed and renewed periodically. The elimination of the program leaves them vulnerable to deportation once the transition period expires.
Precedents with Haiti and Venezuela
This decision comes less than two weeks after the Trump administration announced the end of TPS for nearly 521,000 Haitians, a measure that was blocked by a federal judge last week. In May, the Supreme Court authorized President Trump to terminate this immigration protection for 350,000 Venezuelans.
Trump had attempted to eliminate this status since his first term for migrants from countries like El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, and Sudan, but efforts were blocked by federal courts. The courts maintained TPS designations during the Republican’s previous term, but now the administration is resuming its efforts to dismantle the program.
The TPS was established by Congress in 1990 to provide temporary protection to immigrants from countries experiencing armed conflicts, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances that prevent the safe return of their citizens.
The program for Honduras and Nicaragua represents one of the oldest TPS cases, having been in effect for over a quarter of a century. Beneficiaries have been able to renew their status periodically, allowing thousands of families to put down deep roots in the United States.
The systematic elimination of TPS for various countries is part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration strategy, which has promised the largest mass deportations in U.S. history and has made strict enforcement of immigration laws one of its top political priorities.
Image: Infobae
