A federal judge in California ordered the Trump administration earlier this month to temporarily stop its plan to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program which has enabled hundreds of thousands of immigrants to live and work in the United States. Over 300,000 immigrants from Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Sudan were facing deportation if the program was terminated.
TPS was created in 1990 by Congress to allow foreigners from countries plagued by civil unrest, natural disasters, and health epidemics to remain in the U.S. on a temporary basis. The ruling was a response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, which alleged the government violated the immigrant’s constitutional rights of due process and equal protection after Trump announced to end the program, starting with Sudan migrants in November.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said canceling TPS would cause damage beyond repair and substantial hardship for immigrants, many of whom have lived in the country for at least ten years, are employed and have had U.S.-born children. Additionally, he said there was evidence that President Trump attempted to end the program due to racial bias against non-white, non-European immigrants.
Here is a breakdown of when each of the four group’s protected status will end:
- Sudan – November 2, 2018
- Nicaragua – January 5, 2019
- Haiti – July 22, 2019
- El Salvador – September 9, 2019
According to a brief filed by 17 states, sending home TPS beneficiaries would result in losses estimated up to $132 billion in gross domestic product, $5.2 billion in Medicare and Social Security contributions, and $733 million in costs related to employee turnover. However, despite the facts, the Trump administration continued to carry out the presidential agenda to end the program.
Immigrants from ten countries are currently benefiting from TPS, including 263,000 Salvadorans, 46,000 Haitians, 5,300 Nicaraguans, and 1,000 Sudanese.
For more information about the TPS program or other immigration matters, contact our Phoenix immigration attorney at Kanu & Associates P.C. today.