Why It Matters
Temporary Protected Status fell from about 1.4 million people across 17 countries at the start of the second Trump administration to about 274,000 after terminations for 13 countries. That contraction, described in a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report published Sept. 28, leaves a once-record program nearing possible extinction.
The report ties the shift to Executive Order 14159, issued Jan. 29, 2025, directing designations be limited in scope and last only as long as necessary. If the four remaining designations end without new ones, no one will hold the status by the end of 2026, a first in the 36-year history.
The report states that Congress might consider time limits or permanent pathways, describes terminations by the second Trump Administration that reduced Temporary Protected Status coverage, and notes that recipients are eligible for employment authorization and are not subject to removal while they retain the status. After one termination, the House passed a bill to protect Haitians until April 2029, now awaiting Senate action after a unanimous consent objection July 22.
The Big Picture
Congress created the status in 1990 for people already in the United States lacking an individualized persecution finding for asylum but unable to safely return amid conflict, disaster or extraordinary conditions.
Under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the homeland security secretary, consulting the State Department, may designate a country for six to 18 months on three bases, and extend for six, 12 or 18 months with no limit on extensions. Nationals present on the designation date must apply by a Federal Register deadline, pay fees and document identity and continuous presence, while certain criminal, drug, terrorist and persecution grounds cannot be waived.
About 1.7 million people from 28 countries have received the status, with designations lasting as little as one year and in other cases for decades. The average designation since 1990 is about nine years. More than three quarters of recipients, or 89 percent, were nationals of Latin America or the Caribbean.
Only once has Congress designated a country itself, through an 18-month grant in the Immigration Act of 1990, with all others by the attorney general or homeland security secretary. Research is mixed on whether redesignations with later cutoffs encourage unauthorized migration, with some studies finding no magnet effect and a Dallas Federal Reserve study in May surmising a possible effect for two nationalities.
The Bottom Line
Decisions on the four remaining countries were due in coming months as of the cover date, with El Salvador expiring Sept. 9, Sudan and Ukraine each expiring Oct. 19, and Lebanon expiring Nov. 27. On Sept. 9, citizenship and immigration services posted that Salvadorans retain protection including work authorization until an announcement is made.
The 119th Congress already enacted P.L. 119-21, which increased applicant fees and limited employment authorization renewal periods. Because registration requires names, addresses and biometric information, the government holds data that could support enforcement after protections end, raising operational implications for removals involving hundreds of thousands.
The report observes that ending a designation could leave beneficiaries without employment authorization, subject to removal, and facing difficult or dangerous return conditions without qualification for another immigration status.
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