White House wants these protected immigrants to go
400,000 people are supposed to return to supposedly safe homelands
For nearly three decades, the United States has allowed immigrants from certain countries plagued by civil war or natural disasters to live here until conditions in their homelands improved.
Such immigrants entered the country under what is known as temporary protected status, or TPS. Every 18 months, Department of Homeland Security officials review whether conditions in countries under TPS have improved to the extent that people can safely return.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen extended TPS for about 500 immigrants from Somalia on Thursday. It was a rare move by the Trump administration. More than 400,000 people from countries such as El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan have had their legal protections stripped under the administration and must leave the U.S. within 2 ½ years.
Ending protection for immigrants under TPS isn’t new. President Obama revoked TPS status for the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
But immigrant rights advocates say the Trump administration has been unusually aggressive in revoking TPS status, often on flimsy grounds. Advocates have noted that many immigrants have been in the U.S. for so many years that it makes little sense to compel them to leave, especially if they have U.S.-born children. Defenders of the administration’s policy argue that TPS is, by definition, temporary and should end when living conditions improve in an immigrant’s homeland.
Here, based on information compiled by the Homeland Security Department, are the immigrant groups that the Trump administration says must leave:
El Salvador
About 262,500 Salvadorans must leave by September 2019. They are the largest group of immigrants to benefit from the program.
Salvadorans were granted temporary protection in 2001 after a series of earthquakes, and over the years, the George W. Bush and Obama administrations extended TPS status for them, citing drought, poverty and gang violence. California is home to the most TPS holders from El Salvador, approximately 49,100 people. Nielsen revoked their protections after determining that recovery efforts after the 2001 earthquakes were complete.
Haiti
Nearly 59,000 Haitian immigrants will have their legal protections stripped on July 22, 2019. Haitians were allowed to stay in the U.S. following a massive earthquake in their home country in 2010. Homeland Security officials revoked TPS status for Haitians citing economic improvements and a decline in the number of people displaced by the earthquake.
Honduras
Temporary protected status for 86,000 Hondurans is set to end in January 2020. Hondurans were granted protection in January 1999 after severe flooding and damage from Hurricane Mitch. Nielsen determined that conditions have improved and people can safely return. Past administrations have renewed TPS status for Hondurans. The country continues to be plagued by violence and corruption.
Nepal
The Trump administration is giving Nepalese immigrants until June 2019 to leave. Homeland Security officials estimate that about 14,800 Nepalese were granted protection after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck in April 2015. The Trump administration terminated protections after deciding that conditions in Nepal have improved.
Nicaragua
About 5,300 immigrants from Nicaragua benefit from TPS status, but the program is set to expire for them in January 2019.
Nicaraguans were granted TPS status in January 1999 after the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch. The last extension was given in May 2016 after officials determined conditions had not significantly improved. The Trump administration justified lifting TPS status for Nicaragua by saying recovery efforts had ended.
Sudan
An estimated 1,040 immigrants from Sudan benefit from TPS status. Come November, the Sudanese will have their protections stripped. They were granted protection in 1999 due to armed conflict and other violence.
Former acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke lifted TPS status for Sudanese immigrants in September. Despite continued food shortages and a United Nations report that found 2.3 million people have been displaced, Duke said that the ongoing armed conflict is limited to particular areas and residents’ safety is no longer threatened.
melissa.etehad @latimes.com