On Friday, the Biden administration extended temporary protected status (TPS) by 18 months for Venezuela, Ukraine, Sudan, and El Salvador. The move means nearly 1 million eligible people will be able to re-register for the designation.
A stopgap before harsh immigration policies
Given the estimated 67,840 TPS recipients in New York City (as of March 31, 2024), tens of thousands of people in the city could be protected from deportation until September or October 2026. They would also be able to keep legally working in the U.S. and eligible for travel authorization outside the U.S.
Coming a little over a week before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office, it would make it “almost impossible” for Trump to quickly gut the status, the New York Times reports. As Epicenter NYC has pointed out, the incoming administration has made mass deportations a key promise. During his first term in office, Trump tried to end TPS for nationals from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan, whom he had called “people from shithole countries.”
For some families, a breather
The new announcement keeps some people from undocumented status and the possibility of being deported in the near future.
“Just think about what it would mean, if you had kids, and … you might be deported to a country where you are afraid that they might be killed if you arrive there,” said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the nonprofit Immigration Research Initiative, a nonpartisan think tank. “It’s just enormous to think of what that would mean to be able to stay, even if it’s for just another 18 months.”
This also means folks will have more time to consider their options and discuss them with an immigration attorney, according to Mon Yuck Yu, an immigration advocate. Options could include applying for legal permanent residency through marriage or another eligible familial relationship, employment, or other green card categories.
There might also be a possibility to apply for asylum. While applying for TPS status is usually faster than seeking asylum (if your country is designated for TPS), asylum seekers have a more direct path to gaining permanent residency after one year in the U.S. — as long as their status isn’t revoked, Yu says. Someone can apply for both TPS and asylum at the same time, but they should speak with an attorney to see which status makes the most sense for them.
Keeping certain industries afloat
Many TPS recipients work in industries like manufacturing, construction, agriculture, child care, home health aid, and restaurants. “Those would be the kinds of places you would expect to see particularly big impacts in the New York economy,” Kallick said.
Since TPS won’t likely be extended past these new expiration dates, businesses that depend on protected workers have more time to assess “how they can keep their businesses sustainable without the thousands of TPS holders that have helped sustain the economy over the past couple years,” Yu said.
But TPS is far from the whole picture when it comes to these industries.
“I don’t think anybody expects that [TPS extensions are] going to avoid the bloody story that the incoming president has promised for immigrants in general,” Kallick said. Many of the same industries where TPS recipients are working are also where undocumented migrants and asylum seekers are employed, he says.
A point of no safe return
People from these 17 countries can have TPS status: Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen.
The DHS issues the status, extensions, and redesignations for each country based on its assessment of dangers in countries with TPS. It evaluates armed conflicts, natural disasters, epidemics, and other circumstances that would create grave threats to anyone returned.
Redesignations mean more people would be newly eligible for the status. For example, when Venezuela was redesignated for TPS in Oct. 2023, it allowed Venezuelan migrants who had been continuously living in the U.S. since July 31, 2023 to apply for TPS for the first time.
For the most recent TPS extensions, DHS gave the following reasons:
•El Salvador: “geological and weather events, including significant storms and heavy rainfall in 2023 and 2024, that continue to affect areas heavily impacted by the earthquakes in 2001.” TPS extension through Sept. 9, 2026
•Venezuela: “political and economic crises under the inhumane Maduro regime,” which “have contributed to high levels of crime and violence, impacting access to food, medicine, healthcare, water, electricity, and fuel.” TPS extension through Oct. 2, 2026
•Sudan: “continued political instability” and “human rights abuses, including direct attacks on civilians” by militias, which make it unsafe for Sudanese nationals to return. TPS extension through Oct. 19, 2026
•Ukraine: “Russia’s expanded military invasion,” which “has caused a humanitarian crisis, with significant numbers of individuals fleeing and damage to civilian infrastructure that has left many without electricity or access to medical services.” TPS extension through Oct. 19, 2026.
Hoping for more protections
Immigration advocates hope the current administration will, in its last days, do more with TPS.
“They should also include and add Mauritania, … Ecuador, Colombia and a slew of other countries that are facing some really difficult times right now,” said Murad Awawdeh, the president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition.
In July, the DHS redesignated and extended TPS for Haiti through February 3, 2026, mostly due to gang violence and humanitarian crises; for Yemen, through March 3, 2026, and Somalia through March 17, 2026, largely due to civil wars. In October, the DHS also designated TPS for Lebanon through May 27, 2026 due to war and humanitarian needs.
The legal aid question
Could the newest TPS updates make things tougher for immigration attorneys in the city, already overwhelmed amid the uncertainty and panicked calls before Trump takes office? Immigration advocates say it depends.
Many TPS holders might be scrambling to apply or renew their designations, or figuring out what to do if their TPS expires soon, Yu says. She adds that immigrants using free legal aid programs might wait months for service.
At the same time, TPS recipients who have already been through this process might already have some form of legal representation, Awawdeh says. And because people register or renew TPS at designated times, they aren’t all flocking to attorneys at the same time.
Advice for TPS recipients
Seek help from immigration attorneys
For individual cases, immigration advocates recommend that immigrants, including those with or seeking TPS, get legal help. That includes completing applications with immigration attorneys. The New York Immigration Coalition hosts legal clinics regularly.
“That’s one thing that we’ve prioritized, is TPS applications when the designations are made, so that people can get the relief that they need and the work authorization as well as the protection that comes with it,” Awawdeh said.
Check out NYIC’s legal help directory for a listing of organizations throughout the city offering immigrant legal assistance.
Know your rights
Visit online resources like nyic.org/kyr for materials (translations available) that will help you know what to do in case ICE shows up at your door, asks you a question in the street, or shows up at your workplace. Epicenter NYC and our partner Documented also offer tips.
Know your other resources
This Immigrant Resource Directory, created by Yu, lists healthcare, social service, and legal resources serving immigrants; double-check to make sure these resources are up to date.
NYLPI’s Health Justice Program offers legal support to those facing serious health conditions so they can get the treatment they need. This would be a good resource for anyone who may become undocumented after TPS expires and is experiencing a medical need, Yu says.
Another recommendation from Yu: Anyone who might be at risk of deportation and has a child might want to complete a form for Designation of a Standby Guardian. It allows them to ensure their child is under the care of someone they trust if they’re detained or otherwise separated from their child.
Read more of our immigration stories here.