Why It Matters

A new Congressional Research Service’s analysis places Temporary Protected Status at the center of a fast-moving policy shift under the Trump administration. Congress created TPS in 1990 to provide safe haven to noncitizens in the United States, regardless of immigration status, who are nationals of countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary circumstances that prevent their safe return.

When President Trump took office in January 2025, 17 countries had TPS designations, and by September 10, 2026, TPS had been terminated for 13 of them.

For Congress, the report frames a question about how much of the program’s future will be determined through executive designations, extensions, and terminations rather than through new legislation. For people covered by TPS, the timing of each announcement can determine how long protection and work authorization continue.

The Big Picture

The Secretary of DHS may designate a country for six, 12, or 18 months and may extend the designation if the country continues to meet the conditions for designation. The same framework requires termination when the Secretary determines that a country no longer meets those conditions.

The listed beneficiary counts included 353,160 people for Haiti, 70,070 for Honduras, and 627,750 across Venezuela’s concurrent 2021 and 2023 designations. Other country-specific counts in the report were 11,740 for Afghanistan, 12,160 for Nepal, 6,100 for Syria, 5,460 for Cameroon, and 5,010 for Ethiopia. The remaining counts were 3,970 for Burma, 3,850 for Nicaragua, 2,810 for Yemen, 1,080 for Somalia, and 230 for South Sudan.

The Bottom Line

As of September 10, TPS designations for El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine, and Lebanon remained in effect.

El Salvador’s designation was set to expire on September 9, but no Federal Register notice had announced a termination or extension as of the following day. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services alert posted September 9 said an announcement on El Salvador's TPS would come later. Until that announcement, Salvadoran individuals covered by TPS retained protection and work authorization.

Sudan and Ukraine were set to reach their expiration date on October 19, while Lebanon’s designation was set to expire on November 27.

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