“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark,” writes Warsan Shire. This line from Shire’s poem Home is often quoted in migration justice conversations. Most people in migration are forced to move due to state violence, the climate crisis, war, land grabs, or economic instability.
These factors driving migration often occur in part because of United States’ colonialism, extractive corporate powers, or other harm perpetuated by the Global North. Still, despite their role in interconnected systems of oppression, U.S. presidential administrations continue to attack people in migration.
One of the Trump administration’s ongoing tactics is to unlawfully revoke and terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Learn more about this issue and how to fight back:
What is Temporary Protected Status?
TPS is a temporary immigration status for people from particular countries facing immediate humanitarian threats. Folks from the identified countries don’tautomatically receive TPS; they must register and pay significant fees.
People with TPS are authorized to work and are protected from detention or deportation (legally, though ICE has violated this law).
TPS designations are typically issued for 12 or 18 months at a time. The decision to extend or terminate a designation must occur at least 60 days prior to its expiration date and be published in the Federal Register. Extension or termination is supposed to be based on a good-faith assessment of whether a country’s conditions have meaningfully improved.
How did TPS come about?
TPS was part of the Immigration Act of 1990. U.S. immigration legislation had not been significantly revised since the 1960s. Congress sought to provide a long-term framework and encourage immigration from underrepresented countries, addressing longstanding racism in the legal process. Republican president George H.W. Bush signed it into law.
Who decides which countries get TPS designation?
The Secretary of Homeland Security consults with other government agencies (typically the Department of State and the National Security Council) and then issues TPS designation. The Secretary is not subject to judicial review, and previous decisions about TPS designations cannot be revoked by new leadership.
Does TPS create a path to citizenship or permanent residency?
No, TPS does not provide a separate path to citizenship or a green card. Folks with TPS who are otherwise eligible for permanent status can apply, but they must go through the same process as other applicants.
People with TPS return to their prior immigration status when their country’s TPS designation is terminated. Given how relatively short TPS designations are in the context of the United States’ lengthy, convoluted immigration process, many people with TPS end up undocumented when their designation is terminated and face deportation.
What are the attacks on TPS?
In the past year, the Trump Administration has attempted to terminate TPS for over a million people. In their haste, they’ve violated multiple laws, repeatedly landing themselves in court.
The Department of Homeland Security attempted to unlawfully revoke existing TPS designations for Haiti and Venezuela, issued under the Biden administration. Our partners at the National TPS Alliance sued Kristi Noem over Venezuela’s TPS designation. The unlawful revocation was temporarily stopped by court order. The Supreme Court later allowed it to go into effect, putting over 400,000 people at risk of deportation.
In addition to Venezuela, the administration has successfully terminated TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, though all four terminations continue to be fought in the courts.
Haiti’s TPS designation remains valid but faces judicial challenges. The Trump administration also attempted to terminate TPS designations for Burma, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Syria. All these terminations, however, are tied up in court while the TPS designations remain, at least temporarily, valid.
The administration announced in a press release that they were terminating TPS for Afghanistan and Cameroon, but they didn’t publish it in the Federal Register until a week before the designation was set to expire. These TPS terminations are also being argued in court.
What can we do?
Since many of the Trump administration’s TPS terminations are being challenged in court, we have the chance to advocate for Temporary Protected Status. UUSC organizes our members to take action through our Resistance Network. We also collaborate with the UU Solidarity Initiative. Sign up to be notified of the latest opportunities to speak out against the termination of TPS.
Also make sure to keep in touch with the latest from our partners who are also advocating to Congress: National TPS Alliance, UndocuBlack, and Haitian Bridge Alliance,
At UUSC, we know that migration is a human right. U.S. foreign policy and interventions throughout the world produced many of the conditions which led people to flee to the United States in the first place. Now, the same country that destabilizes governments and creates conditions that force people to leavetheir homes attacks them once again at the destination that should be safe haven. May we take bold action to defend Temporary Protected Status and assert that safety, stability, and migration are fundamental human rights.
