Ending TPS is Another Cruel Step in Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Agenda

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Congress must now act quickly to protect families

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, UnidosUS (formerly NCLR), denounced the Trump administration’s ending of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Nicaraguan recipients who have resided in the United States legally, some for almost two decades. The decision is the latest move by the Trump administration to ramp up deportations at the cost of dividing families, which in this case can have profound implications both at home and abroad.

While the Department of Homeland Security was also supposed to decide on the future of TPS for Honduras concurrently, its inability to reach a decision resulted in an automatic six-month extension for Honduran TPS beneficiaries. This is a further indication that the precarious conditions in that country continue. We continue our call on this administration to extend TPS for Hondurans, who have been legally residing in the U.S. for nearly 18 years.

TPS beneficiaries are some of the most vulnerable populations in the United States, having been displaced by war, natural disasters and other extraordinary events in their home countries leading the United States to designate them for protected status. In less than 65 days, the administration must also decide on the futures of TPS for El Salvador and Haiti, representing an additional 250,000 TPS holders.

“Today’s decision to end TPS for Nicaraguans will disrupt not just the lives of TPS holders but those of their families and communities. These are individuals who are working and contributing to their local communities, they are business owners and mortgage holders who’ve been put through extensive background checks every 18 months since they’ve arrived. Taking away their legal immigration status is just cruel—it serves no purpose other than to divide families and create economic instability for communities as well as our American allies in Central America,” said UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía.

The impact at home and abroad of repealing these TPS designations will be severe. The countries designated for TPS are still dealing with the after effects of the conditions that lead to their being designated in the first place, and will face significant challenges reintegrating a sizeable population. Back in the United States, states like Texas, which is dealing with reconstruction after Hurricane Harvey, could lose $2.2 billion from state GDP annually without TPS holders currently living there. Today, 30% of TPS holders, including those in Texas, have mortgages and 11% of TPS holders in the labor force are self-employed, having created jobs for themselves and others in the community.

“We urge Congress to move expeditiously to protect these families and stave off any damage caused by today’s decision, and urge the administration to continue to carefully review Honduras’ compelling case for continued designation,” concluded Murguía.