The Biden administration announced this week that it is expanding protections from deportation to more than 330,000 immigrants from four countries who were protected by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) — though a senior Democratic senator said the move “just doesn’t go far.” enough”.
The Department of Homeland Security said it is reversing an attempt by the Trump administration to end TPS for nationals from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua and is extending protections for an additional 18 months. About 337,000 immigrants are expected to be protected, some will be here illegally or at risk of overstaying their visas.
The TPS agency enables the Department of Homeland Security to protect US nationals of certain countries from possible deportation if they are eligible, allows them to apply for a work permit, and grants them freedom to travel. TPS is based on three grounds: ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or “extraordinary and temporary conditions”.
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
There are currently 16 countries slated for TPS, many of which have been either designated or expanded by the Biden administration. Right-wing government critics have described the agency’s operation as “amnesty-lite”.
“By extending the temporary protection status, we can continue to provide safety and security to the current beneficiaries, who are nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua who are already in the United States and are unable to return due to the impact of environmental disasters,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement, “We will continue to support them through this temporary form of humanitarian assistance.”
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But even though the Biden administration largely abused the powers, Sen. Bob Menendez, DN.J., criticized DHS for not going a step further and excluding both Guatemala and Venezuela.
“I’m glad that the Biden administration has reversed the Trump administration’s cruel and misguided decision to remove the TPS designations for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal,” he said. However, this decision simply does not go far enough.”
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Sen. Cory Booker, DN.J., left, Sen. Bob Menendez, DN.J., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., attend a press conference on the Biden administration’s border policy on Jan. 26, 2023 , in Washington, DC (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
CBS News reported this week that some senior government officials opposed the expansion of the TPS, citing concerns it could lead to a surge in illegal immigration at the southern border.
In a statement, Menendez said he was concerned that the decision “could be based in part on political calculation rather than sound political considerations and the conditions in each country.”
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He called on the government to “use its powers more aggressively” over TPS to address “long-standing challenges to our immigration system.”
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The Biden administration is demanding a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants — including TPS recipients. Menendez led Senate efforts to legislate for such an amnesty in 2021, but failed because he failed to garner Republican support in the Upper House.
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