Contents

• Background
Introduction
• Humanitarian Response
• Safe Haven
Temporary Protected Status
• Deferred Enforced Departure
• Historical Use of Blanket Relief
• Current TPS and DED Designations
Deferred Enforced Departure
• Temporary Protected Status
• TPS and DED Designations as of March 2025
• Afghanistan
• Burma
• Cameroon
• Central American Countries
El Salvador
• Ethiopia
• Haiti
• Honduras and Nicaragua
Hong Kong
• Lebanon
• Liberia
• Nepal
• Palestinians
• Somalia
• Sudan and South Sudan
• Syria
• Ukraine
• Venezuela
• Yemen
• State of Residence of TPS Recipients
• Adjustment of Status
Long-Standing TPS Designations
• Legislative Activity in the 118^th Congress
Recent Congresses

Summary

When civil unrest, violence, or natural disasters erupt in countries around the world, concerns arise over the ability of certain foreign nationals present in the United States who are from those countries to safely return. Provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provide for temporary protected status (TPS) and other forms of relief from removal under specified circumstances. The Secretary of Homeland SecurityCongress created temporary protected status (TPS) in 1990 to provide protection from removal to such individuals—regardless of their immigration status. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the discretion to designate a country for TPS for periods of 6 to 18 months and can extend these periods if the country continues to meet the conditions for designation. A foreign national from a designated country who is granted TPS receives a registration document and employment authorization for the duration of the TPS designation.

In addition to TPS, there is another form of blanket relief from removal known as deferred enforced departure (DED). DED is a temporary, discretionary, administrative stay of removal granted to foreign nationals from designated countries. Unlike TPS, a DED designation emanates from the President's constitutional powers to conduct foreign relations and has no statutory basis.

There are 17 countries with currentAs of March 31, 2025, 17 countries were covered by TPS designations: Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen. The second Trump Administration has announced terminations of TPS designations for several of these countries, and some terminations are subject to ongoing litigation. As of March 31, 2025As of September 30, 2024, approximately 1,095,115297,635 foreign nationals in the United States from these countries were protected from removal by TPS. In addition, certain Palestinians, Lebanese, Liberians, and residents of Hong Kong living in the United States currently maintain relief under DED.

There is ongoingA DED grant for certain Palestinians expired on August 13, 2025. Over the past decade, there has been debate about whether foreign nationals who have been living in the United States for long periods of time with TPS or DED should have a pathway to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. Two bills that would have provided LPR status to certain TPS and DED recipients passed the House in the 117^th Congress; the Senate did not take action on either. Various bills related to TPS and DED have beenwere introduced in the 118^th Congress. These bills includeand 119^th Congresses. Among them are proposals to designate additionalcertain countries for TPS, provide additional benefits to TPS or DED recipients, or provide fora pathway to LPR status, while others would further restrict individual eligibility for TPS or require an act of Congress to designate countries for TPS. P.L. 119-21 increased the TPS application fee and the employment authorization fee for TPS holders.

Introduction

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) specifies the conditions under which foreign nationals (aliens¹) may enter or be removed from the United States. Aliens in the United States in violation of the INA are subject to removal. Such individuals include those who, for example, were inspected by an immigration officer and permitted to enter (e.g., nonimmigrants, parolees) and then overstayed their period of authorization or otherwise violated the terms of their admission,² and those who entered the country surreptitiouslyrestrict individual eligibility for TPS and limit Department of Homeland Security (DHS) authority to extend TPS designations.

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Background

Federal law provides that all foreign nationals (aliens¹) attempting to enter the United States must do so pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA allows for the admission of (1) immigrants, who are admitted to the United States permanently,² and (2) nonimmigrants, who are admitted for temporary durations and specific purposes (e.g., students, tourists, temporary workers, or business travelers).³ Foreign nationals in the United States who lack lawful immigration status generally fall into three categories: (1) those who were admitted legally and then overstayed their nonimmigrant period of admission,⁴ (2) those who entered the country surreptitiously without inspection, and (3) those who were admitted on the basis of fraudulent documents. In all three instances, such individuals are in the United States in violation of the INA and subject to removal.

The executive branch has discretion to grant temporary reprieves from removal to individuals present in the United States in violation of the INA.⁵3 Temporary Protected Statusprotected status (TPS), codified in INA Section 244,⁶4 provides temporary relief from removal and work authorization to certain foreign nationals—regardless of their immigration status—in the United States who are from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary circumstances that prevent their safe return.

This report begins by situating TPS in the context of humanitarian responses to migration. Another form of blanket relief⁷5 from removal—Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)—is also described, as is the historical use of these relief mechanisms. This report then provides information on each of the countries and groups currently or recently covered by TPS or DED, including the conditions that have contributed to their designation. Pastand the number of TPS recipients in each U.S. state. The report discusses the issue of long-standing TPS designations and legislation to provide lawful permanent resident (LPR) status to certain TPS-designated foreign nationals is also described. The report beneficiaries. It concludes with a brief description of other recent legislative activity related to TPS and DED.

Humanitarian Response

As a State Party to the 1967 United Nations Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (UN Protocol),⁸6 the United States agrees to the principle of nonrefoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where he or she faces serious threats to his or her life or freedom on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. (This is now considered a rule of customary international law.) Nonrefoulement is embodied in several provisions of U.S. immigration law. Most notably, it is reflected in INA provisions requiringFor example, INA §241(b)(3) requires the government to withhold the removal of a foreign national to a country in which his or her life or freedom would be threatened on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.⁹7

The definition of a refugee"refugee" in the INA, which is consistent with the UN Protocol, specifies that a refugee is a person who is unwilling or unable to return to his/her country of nationality or habitual residence because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.¹⁰ This definition also applies to individuals seeking asylum. Under the INA, refugees and asylees differ on the physical location of the persons seeking the status8 Persons seeking asylum in the United States must also satisfy this definition.⁹ Under the INA, persons seeking refugee status or asylum differ with respect to their physical location: those abroad apply for refugee status while those in the United States or at a U.S. port of entry apply for asylum.¹¹10 Those admitted as refugees or granted asylum can apply for LPR status after one year.

Other foreign nationals in the United States who might elicit a humanitarian response may not qualify for asylum because they do not meet the legal definition of a refugee; under certain circumstances these persons may be eligible for relief from removal through TPS or DED.

Temporary Protected Status

TPS is a blanket form of humanitarian relief.¹² It is the statutory embodiment of safe haven for foreign nationals within the United States¹³ who may not qualify for asylum but are nonetheless fleeing—or reluctant to return to—potentially dangerous situations. TPS was established by Congress by Title III of the Immigration Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-649). The statute gives the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),¹⁴11 Safe Haven

Some foreign nationals in the United States may not qualify for asylum because they cannot individually show past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution, but they may qualify for other forms of humanitarian relief if their home country experiences violence, upheaval, or environmental disaster. From 1960 until 1990, the U.S. government granted temporary nationality-based relief from removal (safe haven¹²) to foreign nationals in the United States whose home countries were experiencing war or other dangerous conditions that would have prevented their safe return. Such relief was conferred by the Attorney General—typically after receiving a recommendation from the Department of State (DOS)—through discretionary, blanket grants of extended voluntary departure (EVD).¹³ Decisions to grant or not grant EVD took into account foreign policy, immigration, and humanitarian concerns.¹⁴ As one legal scholar described it, EVD allowed the United States to meet its international commitments to "provide a 'safe haven' while at the same time not granting permanent residency to large groups of aliens outside of regular immigration channels or forcing foreign nationals to renounce their homeland in order to avoid what may be a relatively short-lived crisis."¹⁵ Some of those granted EVD were eventually permitted to adjust to LPR status.¹⁶

In the 1980s, hundreds of thousands of Central Americans arrived in the United States during a time of civil conflicts in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.¹⁷ Many of these new arrivals applied for asylum; approval rates were relatively low, especially for Salvadorans.¹⁸ Religious groups, some Members of Congress, and others called for the Reagan Administration, and subsequently the George H.W. Bush Administration, to grant blanket relief to Salvadorans, arguing that forcing them to return to El Salvador would be inhumane given the level of violence there.¹⁹ In the absence of an EVD grant for Central Americans, some Members of Congress introduced bills to create a statutory safe-haven mechanism that would provide nationality-based relief from removal.²⁰ Proponents of these bills pointed to a need to fill what they perceived as a protection gap for those in the United States who had not or would not qualify for asylum but whose home countries had erupted in generalized violence, upheaval, or environmental disaster.²¹ As support for the argument that there was a gap, Representative Mazzoli pointed out that EVD had been used more than a dozen times going back to the Eisenhower Administration and that each subsequent Administration had used it, regardless of political party. However, he asserted, the recent debates over EVD for Salvadorans and Nicaraguans had revealed that EVD decisions were made "on an ad hoc basis without proper guidelines or standards."²² Temporary safe haven legislation, supporters contended, would address EVD shortcomings by creating an orderly, statutory process. Opponents argued that such a measure would undercut the Refugee Act of 1980 by applying a blanket approach rather than a case-by-case approach to protection needs, and that it would be harmful to U.S. immigration policy by creating pressure for permanent status, encouraging illegal immigration, and favoring nationals of specific countries over others.²³ Temporary Protected Status After several years of debate, Congress established TPS through Title III of the Immigration Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-649) and designated El Salvador for TPS for 18 months. The statute gives the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),²⁴ in consultation with other government agencies (most notably the Department of State), the authority to designate a country for TPS under one or more of the following conditions:

(1) ongoing armed conflict in a foreign state that poses a serious threat to personal safety;

(2) a foreign state request for TPS because it temporarily cannot handle the return of its nationals due to an environmental disaster; or

(3) extraordinary and temporary conditions in a foreign state that prevent its nationals from safely returning.

A foreign state may not be designated for TPS if, unless the Secretary of DHS finds that allowing its nationals to temporarily stay in the United States is against the U.S. national interest.¹⁵

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The Secretary of DHS may designate a country for TPS for periods of 6 to 18 months and can extend these periods if the country continues to meet the conditions for designation.¹⁶.²⁶ A designation must be published in the Federal Register in order to take effect. TPS statute directs the Secretary to periodically review conditions in designated countries and determine whether the conditions for designation continue to be met. If the Secretary determines that they do not, he or she "shall terminate the designation by publishing notice in the Federal Register."²⁷ Such termination may not take effect earlier than 60 days after publication or the expiration of the most recent previous extension, whichever is later.²⁸ If the Secretary determines that conditions continue to be met (or does not make a determination), a designation is extended for 6 months or, at the Secretary's discretion, 12 to 18 months.²⁹ Each designation specifies the date by which individuals must have continuously resided in the United States in order to qualify.¹⁷30 If the Secretary extends a designation, he or she may also move forward the required arrival date to allow foreign nationals who more recently arrived in the United States to qualify, an action sometimes referred to as redesignation.³¹ To be eligible for TPS, a national³² of a designated country must (1) have been continuously physically present in the United States since the designation began; (2) have continuously resided in the United States since the date indicated by the DHS Secretary;³³ (3) be admissible as an immigrant, with certain exceptions; and (4) register during the specified registration period.³⁴ Aliens convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States are ineligible for TPS.³⁵ In addition, TPS applicants are subject to the same criminal and security ineligibilities that apply to asylum applicants.³⁶ The TPS statute specifies that certain grounds of inadmissibility do not apply to TPS applicants (those related to labor certification and documentation requirements) and that other grounds of inadmissibility cannot be waived, including those relating to criminal convictions, drug offenses, terrorist activity, and the persecution of others.³⁷ To obtain TPS, applicantsreferred to as redesignation. Redesignation is not defined in law; it also refers to cases in which a country is designated for TPS for a different or additional reason than previously designated (e.g., initially designated on the basis of armed conflict, and subsequently designated on the basis of a natural disaster).

To obtain TPS, nationals¹⁸ of foreign countries designated for TPS must pay specified fees¹⁹ must pay specified fees and submit an application to DHS's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before the deadline set forth in the Federal Register notice announcing the TPS designation. The application must include supporting documentation as evidence of eligibility (e.g., a passport issued by the designated country and records showing continuous physical presence in the United States since the date established in the TPS designation).²⁰ The statute also specifies grounds of inadmissibility that cannot be waived, including those relating to criminal convictions, drug offenses, terrorist activity, and the persecution of others.²¹38 Foreign nationals outside the United States are not eligible to apply for TPS.

Individuals granted TPS are eligible for employment authorization, cannot be detained on the basis of their immigration status, and are not subject to removal while they retain TPS.²²39 They may be deemed ineligible for public assistance by a state, and they may travel abroad with the prior consent of the DHS Secretary.²³40 TPS does not provide a path to lawful permanent residence or citizenship, but a TPS recipient is not barred from acquiring nonimmigrant or immigrantanother immigration status if he or she meets the requirements.²⁴41 DHS has indicated that information it collects when an individual registers for TPS may be used to enforce immigration law or in any criminal proceeding.²⁵42 In addition, withdrawal of an individual's TPS may subject the individual to exclusion or deportationremoval proceedings.²⁶

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Deferred Enforced Departure

In addition to TPS, thereDED, formerly known as EVD, is another form of blanket relief from removal known as deferred enforced departure (DED).²⁷.⁴⁴ DED is a temporary, discretionary, administrative stay of removal that has been granted to foreign nationals from designated areas. Unlike TPS, a DED designation emanates from the President's constitutional powers to conduct foreign relations and has no statutory basis. DED was first used in 1990 and has been applied to nine groups (see the "Historical Use of Blanket Relief" section). Certain Palestinians, Lebanese, Liberians, and residents of Hong Kong living in the United States currently maintain relief under DED.

DED—and its precursor, extended voluntary departure (EVD)²⁸—have been used to provide relief from removal at the President's discretion, usually in response to war, civil unrest, or natural disasters.²⁹ When Presidents grant DED through an ; a DED grant for certain Palestinians expired on August 13, 2025. Presidents have granted DED through executive order or presidential memorandum, theywhich generally providehave provided eligibility guidelines and directdirected the Secretary of Homeland Security to allow DED-eligible individuals to apply for employment authorization. Unlike TPS, the Secretary of State does not need to be consulted when DED is granted. In contrast to recipients of TPS, individuals who benefit from DED are not required to do not register for the status with USCIS unless they are applying for work authorization.³⁰45 Instead, DED is triggered when a protected individual is identified for removal.

Historical Use of Blanket Relief

In 1990, when Congress enacted the TPS statute, it also granted TPS for 18 months to Salvadoran nationals who were residing in the United States. Since then, the Attorney General (and later, the Secretary of DHS), in consultation with the Secretary of State, granted and subsequently terminated TPS for foreign nationals in the United States from the following countries: Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kosovo (then a province of Serbia), Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Montserrat, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone.³¹

When the initial TPS designation of El Salvador expired in 1992, President George H. W. Bush granted DED to an estimated 190,000 Salvadorans through DecemberDeferred Enforced Departure DED—and its precursor, EVD—have been used to provide relief from removal at the President's discretion, usually in response to war, civil unrest, or natural disasters.⁴⁶ When the initial congressional TPS designation of El Salvador expired in 1992, President George H. W. Bush granted DED for 12 months to the estimated 150,000 Salvadorans covered by the TPS designation. President Clinton extended this DED grant for another 18 months before allowing it to expire at the end of 1994. President Bush also granted DED to about 80,000 Chinese nationals in the United States following the Tiananmen Square massacre in June 1989, and these individuals retained DED status through January 1994.³²47 From 1991 to 1996, DED was also granted to about 2,200 Kuwaiti Persian Gulf evacuees who were airlifted to the United States after the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. In December 1997, President Clinton instructed the Attorney General to grantgranted DED for one year to Haitian nationals in the United States, providing time for the Administration to work with Congress on long-term legislative relief for Haitians.³³48 President George W. Bush directed that DED be providedgranted DED to Liberian nationals whose TPS was expiring in September 2007; Liberian DED was extended several times by President Obama.³⁴ President Trump terminated DED for Liberians, but provided for extended wind-down periods that lasted until January 10, 2021under several subsequent Presidents and is currently in effect (for more details, see the "Liberia" section).³⁵ On President Trump's last full day in officeof his first term, he granted DED to Venezuelans; that grant expired in 2022, following the designation of Venezuela for TPS in 2021 (for more details, see the "Venezuela" section). Temporary Protected Status

In 1990, when Congress enacted the TPS statute, it also granted TPS for 18 months to Salvadoran nationals who were residing in the United States. Between 1990 and 2017, the Attorney General (and later, the Secretary of DHS), in consultation with the Secretary of State, granted and subsequently terminated TPS for foreign nationals in the United States from the following countries: Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kosovo (then a province of Serbia), Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Montserrat, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone.⁴⁹

TPS and DED Designations as of March 2025 As of March 31, 2025, 17 countries were designated for TPS: Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen.⁵⁰ As of that date, approximately 1,297,635 foreign nationals residing in the United States were protected by TPS.⁵¹ The second Trump Administration has announced terminations of TPS designations for several of these countries (see Table 1).⁵² Table 1 lists the TPS-designated countries as of March 31, 2025, the most recent decision (e.g., new , he granted DED to Venezuelans.³⁶ President Biden reinstated DED for Liberians on his first day in office.³⁷ In August 2021, President Biden granted DED to residents of Hong Kong living in the United States.³⁸ DED for Venezuela expired on July 20, 2022, following its designation for TPS in March 2021 (see "Venezuela" below). In 2024, President Biden granted DED to two populations in the United States: Palestinians³⁹ and nationals of Lebanon.⁴⁰

Current TPS and DED Designations

As of the cover date of this report, 17 countries are designated for TPS. As of September 30, 2024, approximately 1,095,115 foreign nationals residing in the United States from the following 16 countries were protected by TPS: Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen.⁴¹

Table 1 lists the TPS-designated countries as of the cover date of this report, the most recent decision (e.g., designation, extension, or termination) by the Secretary of DHS, the date from which individuals are required to have continuously resided in the United States, and the designation's current expiration date. In addition, Table 1 shows the number of individuals protected by TPS as of September 30, 2024.⁴²

March 31, 2025.⁵³

In addition to the countries designated for TPS, certain nationals of Liberia and Lebanon are covered by DED, as are certain Palestinians and certain Hong Kong residents currently present in the United States (see the "Hong Kong," "Lebanon," "Liberia," and "Palestinians" sections); an 18-month DED grant for certain Palestinians expired on August 13, 2025. Table 2 shows the dates associated with these grants. Individuals covered by DED are not required to register for the status with USCIS unless they are applying for work authorization. As a result, USCIS does not maintain data on the number of people covered by DED.

Afghanistan

Tens of thousands of Afghans were evacuated and relocated to the United States in summer 2021 as a result of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.⁴³54 These Afghan nationals included persons who had assisted the United States during its two-decade military presence and economic development efforts in Afghanistan. Most Afghan evacuees who were allowed to enter the United States were granted immigration parole. Parolees are permitted to remain in the United States for the duration of the grant of parole and may obtain work authorization.⁴⁴55 These benefits are temporary; parole does not provide a recipient with a designated pathway to LPR status. Most Afghan evacuees were granted parole for two years,⁴⁵56 though some were reportedly granted parole for one year.⁴⁶

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On March 15, 2022, DHS Secretary Mayorkas announced the designation of Afghanistan for TPS for a period of 18 months.⁴⁷58 The designation iswas based on ongoing armed conflict "as the Taliban seeks to impose control in all areas of the country and Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) conducts attacks against civilians."⁴⁸59 The DHS press release also referencesreferenced the "extraordinary and temporary" conditions that preventprevented Afghans from being able to safely return to Afghanistan: "collapsing public sector, a worsening economic crisis, drought, food and water insecurity, lack of access to healthcare, internal displacement, human rights abuses and repression by the Taliban, destruction of infrastructure, and increasing criminality."⁴⁹60 According to DHS, the TPS designation would allow approximately 74,500 Afghans who were residing in the United States as of March 15, 2022, to remain and work legally through November 20, 2023.⁵⁰61

In September 2023, DHSSecretary Mayorkas extended Afghanistan's TPS designation for another 18 months, through May 20, 2025, based on the conditions described above.⁵¹ DHS62 At the same time, he also redesignated Afghanistan for TPS, allowing additional Afghan nationals who havehad been residing in the United States since September 20, 2023, to apply for TPS. DHS estimates that approximately 14,600 individuals became newly eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Afghanistan.⁵² As of September 30, 2024, 9,63063 In May 2025, Secretary Noem announced the termination of Afghanistan's TPS designation, effective July 14, 2025.⁶⁴ As of March 31, 2025, 8,105 nationals of Afghanistan were covered by TPS according to USCIS.⁶⁵.⁵³

Burma

On February 1, 2021, Burma's military seized control of Burma's Union Government and detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi (the country's de facto civilian leader) and members of her political party. The military's action was widely condemned internationally as a blow to Burma's partial transition from military rule to democracy.⁵⁴66 In subsequent weeks, the military used lethal force against peaceful protesters several times.

In a press release announcing the decision to designate Burma for TPS on the basis of extraordinary and temporary conditions, Secretary Mayorkas stated, "Due to the military coup and security forces' brutal violence against civilians, the people of Burma are suffering a complex and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in many parts of the country."⁵⁵67 The press release also noted, "The coup has led to continuing violence, pervasive arbitrary detentions, the use of lethal violence against peaceful protesters, and intimidation of the people of Burma. The coup has worsened humanitarian conditions in several areas by limiting access to life-saving assistance, disrupting flights carrying humanitarian and medical aid, and spurring an economic crisis."⁵⁶68

Burma's initial designation was for 18 months (through November 25, 2022) and applied to Burmese nationals who could demonstrate that they were present in the United States as of March 11, 2021. DHS estimated that 1,600 individuals were eligible under this designation.⁵⁷69 Secretary Mayorkas has extended Burma's designation twice since then—in September 2022 and in May 2024—citing ongoing violence, human trafficking, food insecurity, and other humanitarian concerns.⁵⁸70 Each extension was for 18 months and was accompanied by a redesignation, allowing more recently arrived Burmese nationals to be eligible for TPS. The latest redesignation makes Burmese nationals residing in the United States as of March 21, 2024, eligible for TPS. The redesignation took effect on May 26, 2024, and is to remain in effect throughis set to expire on November 25, 2025. DHS estimates that approximately 9,590 additional individuals may be eligible for TPS under the two redesignations of Burma.⁵⁹71 As of September 30, 2024, 3,275March 31, 2025, 3,670 nationals of Burma were covered by TPS according to USCIS.⁷².⁶⁰

Cameroon

Cameroon faces security crises on several fronts.⁶¹73 Northern Cameroon faces threats from Boko Haram, a Nigerian-origin armed Islamist group, and an Islamic State-affiliated offshoot. In the west, a conflict between Anglophone separatists and state security forces that began in 2017 has led to thousands of civilian deaths and widespread human rights abuses. Over 1 million Cameroonians have been internally displaced due to the conflicts in the north and west.⁶²74 Some 4.7 million Cameroonians (more than one in seven) are in need of humanitarian assistance, per UN estimates.⁶³

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In 2020, multiple Members of Congress urged the Trump Administration to halt the planned removal of Cameroonian asylum-seekers, citing unsafe conditions in Cameroon.⁶⁴76 Starting in 2021, multiple Members of Congress asked the Biden Administration to grant TPS or DED for Cameroon.⁶⁵77 In 2022, the U.S. organization Human Rights Watch raised concerns over the safety of Cameroonians removed from the United States, citing allegations that some of those returned to Cameroon from the United States faced arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, rape, and other abuses by Cameroonian authorities.⁶⁶78

On April 15, 2022, DHS Secretary Mayorkas announced that he was designating Cameroon for TPS based on armed conflict and extraordinary conditions that prevent its nationals from returning to Cameroon safely. The announcement cited "the extreme violence between government forces and armed separatists and a significant rise in attacks from Boko Haram," as well as the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, which "have led to economic instability, food insecurity, and several hundred thousand displaced Cameroonians without access to schools, hospitals, and other critical services."⁶⁷79 The 18-month designation covered nationals of Cameroon who were residing in the United States as of April 14, 2022. DHS estimated that 11,700 individuals were eligible to file applications for TPS under this initial designation of Cameroon.⁶⁸80

In October 2023, DHSSecretary Mayorkas extended Cameroon's designation for 18 months, through June 7, 2025, based on ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions.⁶⁹ This allows those who received TPS under the 2022 designation to remain in the United States through June 7, 2025. DHS81 He also redesignated Cameroon for TPS, allowing additional Cameroonian nationals who havehad been residing in the United States since October 5, 2023, to apply. DHS estimated that approximately 7,900 individuals may bewere newly eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Cameroon.⁷⁰ As of September 30, 2024, 3,485 nationals of Cameroon were covered by TPS.⁷¹

Central American Countries

The only time Congress designated a country for TPS was in 1990 (as part of P.L. 101-649, the law establishing TPS) when it designated El Salvador for 18 months.⁷² In the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in November 1998, then-Attorney General Janet Reno announced that she would temporarily suspend the deportation of nationals from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. On January 5, 1999, she designated Honduras and Nicaragua for TPS due to "severe flooding and associated damage" and "substantial disruption of living conditions" caused by Hurricane Mitch.⁷³ Prior to leaving office in January 2001, President Clinton said that his Administration would temporarily suspend deportations to El Salvador because of a major earthquake. In 2001, the George W. Bush Administration granted TPS to Salvadoran nationals following two earthquakes that rocked the country.⁷⁴

Over the years, the George W. Bush Administration and the Obama Administration extended TPS for Central Americans from El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua on the rationale that it was still unsafe for their nationals to return due to the disruption of living conditions from environmental disasters.

Beginning in late 2017, the Trump Administration announced decisions to terminate TPS for Nicaragua and El Salvador and to put on hold a decision about Honduras. In November 2017, DHS announced that TPS for Nicaragua would end on January 5, 2019, due to "recovery efforts relating to Hurricane Mitch [that] have largely been completed."⁷⁵ On the same day, DHS announced that more information was necessary to make a determination about TPS for Honduras; as a result, statute dictates that its status be extended for six months.⁷⁶ On May 4, 2018, DHS announced its decision to terminate the TPS designation for Honduras, with an 18-month delay (until January 5, 2020) to allow for an orderly transition.⁷⁷ The terminations for Nicaragua and Honduras were put on hold due to a legal challenge.⁷⁸ On June 13, 2023, DHS announced that it was rescinding the Trump Administration's terminations and extending their designations for 18 months.⁷⁹ The extensions for Nicaragua and Honduras are to last until July 5, 2025. As of September 30, 2024, 2,935 nationals of Nicaragua and 52,585 nationals of Honduras were covered by TPS.⁸⁰

On January 8, 2018, DHS announced its decision to terminate TPS for El Salvador—whose 82 In June 2025, Secretary Noem announced the termination of Cameroon's TPS designation, effective August 4, 2025. The Federal Register notice announcing the termination noted that armed conflict is limited to 3 of 10 regions in Cameroon and that "while certain conditions that led to the initial designation of TPS for Cameroon may continue, they do not pose a serious threat to individual safety due to ongoing armed conflict and do not result in Cameroonians being unable to safely return."⁸³ As of March 31, 2025, 4,920 nationals of Cameroon were covered by TPS according to USCIS.⁸⁴ El Salvador

The only time Congress has designated a country for TPS was in 1990 (as part of P.L. 101-649, the law establishing TPS) when it designated El Salvador for 18 months.⁸⁵ As previously mentioned, when this designation expired in 1992, President George H. W. Bush granted DED for 12 months to the estimated 150,000 Salvadorans covered by the TPS designation. President Clinton extended this DED grant for another 18 months before allowing it to expire at the end of 1994. Some Salvadorans covered by these designations who had applied for asylum were able to adjust to LPR status under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) (Title II of P.L. 105-100), which became law in 1997.⁸⁶

In early 2001, two major earthquakes hit El Salvador, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries, and the displacement of 17% of the country's population.⁸⁷ The Government of El Salvador formally requested a TPS designation in January 2001, and the George W. Bush Administration designated El Salvador for TPS in March of that same year. This initial designation was for 18 months. Over the years, the George W. Bush Administration and the Obama Administration extended TPS for El Salvador on the rationale that it was still unsafe for its nationals to return due to the disruption of living conditions from environmental disaster.

On January 8, 2018, the first Trump Administration announced its decision to terminate TPS for El Salvador—whose almost 200,000 nationals accounted for about 60% of all TPS recipients at the time—after an 18-month transition period. El Salvador's TPS designation was scheduled to end on September 9, 2019,⁸¹88 but the termination was put on hold due to a legal challenge.⁸² DHS announced in October 2019—as part of agreements with El Salvador related to information sharing and security—that it would extend the validity of work permits through January 4, 2021, for Salvadorans with TPS. The October 2019 announcement also stated that Salvadorans with TPS would have "an additional 365 days after the conclusion of the TPS-related lawsuits to repatriate back to their home country."⁸³ Subsequently, to89 To comply with court orders, DHS extended TPS-related documentation through June 30, 2024, for individuals from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and other specified countries.⁸⁴90 On June 13, 2023, DHSthe Biden Administration announced that it was rescinding the Trump Administration's termination of the TPS designation for El Salvador and extending it for 18 months (until March 9, 2025).⁸⁵ As of September 30, 2024, 174,190 nationals of El Salvador were covered by TPS.⁸⁶

The large number of Central Americans with TPS, along with their length of U.S. residence and resulting substantial economic and family ties, have led some to support extending TPS—or providing LPR status—for Central Americans. Supporters have argued that ongoing violence, political unrest, and subsequent natural disasters have left these countries unable to adequately handle the return of their nationals and that a large-scale return could have negative consequences for the U.S. economy and labor supply, American families, foreign relations, and the flow of remittances sent by Central Americans living in the United States to their relatives in Central America.⁸⁷ Opponents have argued that ending the TPS designations for these countries is consistent with congressional intent—to provide temporary safe haven.

91 In January 2025, the Biden Administration extended El Salvador's TPS for another 18 months, through September 9, 2026.⁹² As of March 31, 2025, 170,125 nationals of El Salvador were covered by TPS according to USCIS.⁹³

Ethiopia

Armed conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray regional state broke out in late 2020, fueling a large-scale humanitarian crisis and attracting international concern amid reports of starvation and atrocities.⁸⁸94 The conflict spread into neighboring states in 2021 before a humanitarian truce was declared in March 2022. The warring parties resumed hostilities in August 2022, prompting concern by international observers that the renewed hostilities might spur a new wave of human rights abuses and possible atrocities.⁸⁹95 A ceasefire agreement signed in November 2022 brought an end to the fighting, but tensions persist, as does large-scale displacement. Armed conflict has continued in other parts of the country, including in parts of its largest and most populous region, Oromia. There are also humanitarian crises linked to drought and conflict.

On October 21, 2022, DHS announced an 18-month designation of Ethiopia for TPS, citing "conflict-related violence and a humanitarian crisis involving severe food shortages, flooding, drought, and displacement."⁹⁰96 When announcing TPS for Ethiopia, DHS further stated

Due to the armed conflict, civilians are at risk of conflict-related violence, including attacks, killings, rape, and other forms of gender-based violence; ethnicity-based detentions; and human rights violations and abuses. Extraordinary and temporary conditions that further prevent nationals from returning in safety include a humanitarian crisis involving severe food insecurity, flooding, drought, large-scale displacement, and the impact of disease outbreaks.

This initial 18-month designation covered individuals who were residing in the United States as of December 12, 2022, and lasted until June 12, 2024.⁹¹97 Secretary Mayorkas extended Ethiopia's designation for another 18 months (from June 13, 2024, through December 12, 2025) based on ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary conditions, including human rights abuses, environmental disasters, food insecurity, internal displacement, and communicable diseases outbreaks.⁹²98 The extension was accompanied by a redesignation, which allowed additional Ethiopian nationals who had been continuously residing in the United States since April 11, 2024, to apply for TPS. DHS estimated that approximately 26,700 Ethiopians residing in the United States as of October 20, 2022, were eligible to apply for TPS under the initial designation,⁹³ and DHS estimates 99 and that approximately 12,800 individuals became newly eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Ethiopia. As of September 30, 2024, 3,745March 31, 2025, 4,540 nationals of Ethiopia were covered by TPS according to USCIS.¹⁰⁰.⁹⁴

Haiti

Devastation caused by a January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti prompted calls for the Obama Administration to grant TPS to Haitian nationals in the United States.⁹⁵101 The scale of the humanitarian crisis after the earthquake—with estimates of thousands of Haitians dead and reports of the total collapse of Port au Prince's infrastructure—led DHS to grant TPS for 18 months to Haitian nationals who were in the United States as of January 12, 2010.⁹⁶102 At the time, then-DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano stated: "Providing a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals who are currently in the United States and whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to Haiti is part of this Administration's continuing efforts to support Haiti's recovery."⁹⁷103

DHS extended the TPS designation for Haiti in May 2011, providing another 18 months of TPS, through January 22, 2013.⁹⁸104 At the same time, DHS issued a redesignation, enabling eligible Haitian nationals who had arrived in the United States up to one year after the earthquake to receive TPS. The redesignation targeted individuals who were allowed to enter the United States immediately after the earthquake on temporary visas or humanitarian parole,⁹⁹105 but were not covered by the initial TPS designation.¹⁰⁰106 Subsequently, then-Secretary Jeh Johnson extended Haiti's designation several more times, through July 22, 2017.¹⁰¹107

AOn May 2, 2017, letter from Members of the Congressional Black Caucus to then-DHS Secretary John Kelly urged another 18-month extension of TPS for Haiti, citing continued recovery difficulties from the 2010 earthquake that killed over 300,000 people, an ongoing cholera epidemic, and additional damages from Hurricane Matthew in 2016.¹⁰² On May 24, 2017,24, 2017, then-Secretary John Kelly extended Haiti's TPS designation for six months (the minimum allowed by statute), from its planned expiration on July 22, 2017, to January 22, 2018, and encouraged beneficiaries to prepare to return to Haiti should its designation be terminated after six months.¹⁰³108 An October 4, 2017, letter from the Haitian ambassador to then-Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke requested that Haiti's designation be extended for an additional 18 months.¹⁰⁴109 On November 20, 2017, DHS announced its decision to terminate TPS for Haiti, with an 18-month transition period. ItsHaiti's designation was set to terminate on July 22, 2019,¹⁰⁵110 but the termination was put on holddid not take effect due to legal challenges.¹⁰⁶111

On May 22, 2021, Secretary Mayorkas announced a new, 18-month TPS designation for Haiti based on extraordinary and temporary conditions, stating, "Haiti is currently experiencing serious security concerns, social unrest, an increase in human rights abuses, crippling poverty, and lack of basic resources, which are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic."¹⁰⁷112 The announcement followed months of pressure from immigration advocates and some Members of Congress, including the chair and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.¹⁰⁸113 DHS estimated that 155,000 Haitians would be eligible under this designation,¹⁰⁹114 which included individuals who were already covered by the separate TPS designation that began in 2010. Haiti's TPS has been extended twice since then (in December 2022¹¹⁰115 and July 2024¹¹¹116) for 18 months each time. Both times, Haiti was also redesignated, allowing additional Haitian nationals to apply. Haitians who have been residing in the United States since June 3, 2024, are eligible under the most recent redesignation. DHS estimated that 309,000 Haitians would be newly eligible to apply under this redesignation.¹¹⁷ In February 2025, Secretary Noem announced a partial vacatur of Secretary Mayorkas's July 2024 decision to extend Haiti's TPS for 18 months by reducing the designation period to 12 months.¹¹⁸ In June 2025, Secretary Noem announced the termination of Haiti's TPS designation effective September 2, 2025, stating that "the environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home"¹¹⁹ and that it is "contrary to the national interest to permit [Haitians] to remain temporarily in the United States."¹²⁰ A federal district court judge ruled that Noem's partial vacatur was unlawful and that a termination cannot take effect prior to February 3, 2026, the expiration date of Mayorkas's last extension.¹²¹ As of March 31, 2025 As of September 30, 2024, there were 260,790330,735 nationals of Haiti with TPS according to USCIS.¹²² Honduras and Nicaragua

In the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in November 1998, then-Attorney General Janet Reno announced that she would temporarily suspend the deportation of nationals from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. On January 5, 1999, she designated Honduras and Nicaragua for TPS due to "severe flooding and associated damage" and "substantial disruption of living conditions" caused by Hurricane Mitch.¹²³ Over the years, the George W. Bush Administration and the Obama Administration extended TPS for Honduras and Nicaragua on the rationale that it was still unsafe for their nationals to return due to the disruption of living conditions from environmental disasters.

Beginning in late 2017, the first Trump Administration announced decisions to terminate TPS for Nicaragua and to put on hold a decision about Honduras. In November 2017, DHS announced that TPS for Nicaragua would end on January 5, 2019, due to "recovery efforts relating to Hurricane Mitch [that] have largely been completed."¹²⁴ On the same day, DHS announced that more information was necessary to make a determination about TPS for Honduras; as a result, its designation was extended for six months as prescribed by statute.¹²⁵ On May 4, 2018, DHS announced its decision to terminate the TPS designation for Honduras, with an 18-month delay (until January 5, 2020) to allow for an orderly transition.¹²⁶ The terminations for Nicaragua and Honduras did not take effect due to a legal challenge.¹²⁷ In June 2023, the Biden Administration announced that it was rescinding the first Trump Administration's terminations and extending the designations of Honduras and Nicaragua for 18 months, through July 5, 2025.¹²⁸ The notices cited environmental, political, and social crises since Hurricane Mitch that prevented full recovery from the hurricane and continued to impair the countries from adequately handling the return of their nationals.¹²⁹ On July 7, 2025, the second Trump Administration announced terminations of both countries' designations (to take effect September 8, 2025), citing their "significant progress recovering from the hurricane's destruction," their growing tourism industries, and other infrastructural and economic improvements.¹³⁰ These terminations are subject to a pending legal challenge.¹³¹ As of March 31, 2025, 51,225 nationals of Honduras and 2,910 nationals of Nicaragua were covered by TPS according to USCIS.¹³² Hong Kong Following large-scale protests in 2019, China imposed a sweeping National Security Law in 2020 on its Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The U.S. government joined other G-7 members and the European Union in declaring that China's decision to impose the law was "not in conformity with" China's commitments under a legally binding, UN-registered 1984 treaty between China and the United Kingdom (U.K.).¹³³ In the treaty, China had pledged that after it assumed sovereignty of Hong Kong from the U.K. in 1997, Hong Kong would "enjoy a high degree of autonomy" and "independent judicial power" until at least 2047.¹³⁴ nationals of Haiti with TPS.¹¹²

Hong Kong

Following large-scale protests in 2019, China imposed a sweeping National Security Law on Hong Kong in 2020 that many see as violating a 1984 Sino-British treaty which stated that Hong Kong's social and economic systems and individual rights and freedoms would remain unchanged until at least 2047 and in which China promised to give Hong Kong a "high degree of autonomy."¹¹³ In February 2021, after Hong Kong authorities charged pro-democracy politicians and activists with subversion under the new law, then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for their immediate release, stating, "Political participation and freedom of expression should not be crimes."¹¹⁴135 On August 5, 2021, President Biden granted DED to certain Hong Kong residents in the United States citing the "significant erosion" of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong.¹³⁶.¹¹⁵ Under this directive, eligible individuals could apply to DHS for work authorization and were not subject to removal from the United States for the next 18 months. DHS estimated that the Hong Kong population eligible for DED in March 2021 was 3,860.¹¹⁶137 On January 26, 2023, President Biden announced a two-year extension (through February 5, 2025) of DED for certain Hong Kong residents, including those who arrived in the United States by January 26, 2023.¹¹⁷

138 Citing ongoing Hong Kong crackdowns on pro-democracy advocates, President Biden in January 2025 extended the grant for another two years (through February 5, 2027) and expanded eligibility to those from Hong Kong who entered the United States after the prior extension.¹³⁹

Lebanon

The Israel-Hamas war that began in October 2023 has led to regional instability. Armed clashes between Lebanon's neighbor, Israel, and the Iran-backed Shia Islamist group Lebanese Hezbollah (a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization) intensified in September and October 2024 before pausing via a November 2024 ceasefire.¹¹⁸140 On July 26, 2024, President Biden announced an 18-month DED grant for Lebanese nationals present in the United States as of that date, citing the deterioration in humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon and danger to civilians.¹¹⁹141

On October 17, 2024, Secretary Mayorkas announced a new TPS designation for Lebanon for 18 months, citing "ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Lebanon that prevent nationals of Lebanon from returning in safety."¹²⁰142 The announcement noted that the TPS designation would allow Lebanese nationals to remain in the United States "while the United States is in discussions to achieve a diplomatic resolution for lasting stability and security across the Israel-Lebanon border."¹²¹143 Unlike DED, a TPS designation allows those who qualify to obtain an immigration status and documentation thereofdocumentation of their status if they submit an application (with a fee) and it is approved.¹⁴⁴ A TPS designation also requires that the Administration reconsider country conditions on a periodic basis and extend or terminate the status accordingly, whereas DED can expire (or be terminated early) without review.¹⁴⁵ DHS estimates that approximately 11,000 Lebanese nationals may be eligible for DED and TPS.¹²²146 As of March 31, 2025, 140 individuals were covered by Lebanon's TPS designation according to USCIS.¹⁴⁷

Liberia

Liberians in the United States first received TPS in March 1991 following the outbreak of civil war and were subsequently covered by TPS through September 1999.¹²³148 In September 1999, when their TPS designation expired, President Clinton authorized DED for an estimated 10,000 Liberians in the United States. DED was subsequently extended by President Clinton and President George W. Bush to September 29, 2002. On October 1, 2002, Liberia was designated again for TPS due to ongoing armed conflict.¹²⁴149 In 2006, the George W. Bush Administration announced that TPS for Liberia would expire on October 1, 2007, but that covered Liberians would be eligible for DED until March 31, 2009. On March 23, 2009, President Obama extended DED for those Liberians until March 31, 2010, and several times thereafter.¹²⁵150

As a result of the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the Obama Administration designated Liberia for TPS again, along with Sierra Leone and Guinea.¹²⁶151 This TPS designation was set to expire on November 21, 2016, but was extended for six additional months, through May 21, 2017. This extension was granted in order to provide an "orderly transition" for beneficiaries to "prepare for and arrange their departure from the United States or … to apply for other immigration benefits for which they are eligible."¹²⁷152 Similar notices were issued for Sierra Leone and Guinea.

President Obama extended, through March 31, 2018, the DED grant for a specially designated population of Liberians who had been residing in the United States since October 2002.¹²⁸153 On March 27, 2018, President Trump announced that, while a further DED extension was not warranted due to improved conditions in Liberia, U.S. foreign policy interests warranted a 12-month wind-down period.¹²⁹154 A lawsuit challenging the termination was filed in federal court on March 8, 2019.¹³⁰155 Three days before the effective DED termination date, President Trump—citing congressional efforts to provide longer-term relief for Liberians—announced a 12-month extension of the wind-down period, to last through March 30, 2020.¹³¹156

On March 30, 2020, President Trump again delayed the effective date of the termination (this time to January 10, 2021) in order to provide continuous employment authorization to Liberians eligible to adjust their status under the recently enacted Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness provision (LRIF). LRIF, enacted by the 116^th Congress as Section 7611 of the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, P.L. 116-92, signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019), allowed Liberians who had been continuously present in the United States since November 2014 and their family members to apply for LPR status. The deadline for submitting LRIF applications was December 20, 2021.¹³²

157

The DED grant for Liberia expired on January 10, 2021. On his first day in office, President Biden reinstated DED through June 30, 2022, for Liberians who had been covered by the most recent DED grant, citing foreign policy reasons and a desire to provide protection and work authorization for Liberians in the process of adjusting status under LRIF.¹³³158 In June 2022, President Biden extended DED by two years and expanded eligibility to include Liberians who have been continuously present in the United States since May 20, 2017.¹³⁴159 This date aligns with the end of Liberia's most recent TPS designation and thus allows certain individuals who may be eligible for LRIF and/or were not covered by the prior DED grant to receive protection from removal and work authorization. In his memorandum extending DED, President Biden stated, "Providing protection from removal and work authorization to these Liberians, for whom we have long authorized TPS or DED in the United States, including while they complete the LRIF status-adjustment process, honors the historic close relationship between the United States and Liberia and is in the foreign policy interests of the United States."¹³⁵160 On June 28, 2024, President Biden extended Liberia's DED for an additional two years, through June 30, 2026, citing the same reasons as when he extended DED for Liberians in 2022.¹³⁶161

Nepal

Nepal was devastated by a massive earthquake on April 25, 2015, killing over 8,000 people. The earthquake and subsequent aftershocks demolished much of Nepal's housing and infrastructure in many areas. Over half a million homes were reportedly destroyed.¹³⁷162 On June 24, 2015, citing a substantial but temporary disruption in living conditions as a result of the earthquake, then-DHS SecretarySecretary of DHS Jeh Johnson designated Nepal for TPS for an 18-month period.¹³⁸163 TPS for Nepal was extended for 18 months in October 2016.¹³⁹ 164 On April 26, 2018, then-Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced her decision to terminate the TPS designation for Nepal, citing her assessment that the original conditions under which the country was designated were no longer substantial and that Nepal could adequately handle the return of its nationals.¹⁴⁰165 A 12-month delay of the termination date to allow for an orderly transition was also announced; the TPS designation for Nepal was thus set to terminate on June 24, 2019.¹⁴¹166 The termination was put on holddid not take effect due to a legal challenge.¹⁴²167 On June 13, 2023, DHS announced that it was rescinding the Trump Administration's termination of Nepal's designation (along with those for three Central American countries, as described above) and extending it for an additional 18 months, through June 24, 2025.¹⁴³ As of September 30, 2024, 7,505 nationals of Nepal were covered by TPS.¹⁴⁴

Palestinians

On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas led surprise attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip. More than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals (including at least 35 U.S. citizens in Israel) were killed. Hamas and other groups also seized 251 hostages on October 7. In response to the October 7 attacks, Israel declared war on Hamas and launched aerial bombardment and ground operations in Gaza. As of October 2024, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, more than 41,000 Palestinians in Gaza had been killed. The conflict's impact in Gaza, with an estimated 1.9 million Gazans displaced (90% of the population of approximately 2.1 million people) has generated a humanitarian crisis.¹⁴⁵

Citing "significantly deteriorated" humanitarian conditions in the "Palestinian territories, and primarily Gaza," President Biden issued a memorandum on February 14, 2024, granting DED to certain Palestinians in the United States.¹⁴⁶ Under this designation, eligible individuals can apply to DHS for work authorization and are not 168 The notice rescinding the termination stated that Nepal "continued to experience significant challenges due to the destruction caused by the earthquake and subsequent landslides that hampered reconstruction that were not sufficiently considered in the termination decision."¹⁶⁹

In June 2025, Secretary Noem announced her decision to terminate Nepal's TPS designation, effective August 5, 2025.¹⁷⁰ The notice cited "notable improvements in environmental disaster preparedness and response capacity, as well as substantial reconstruction from the earthquake's destruction such that there is no longer a disruption of living conditions and Nepal is able to handle adequately the return of its nationals." The termination is subject to a legal challenge.¹⁷¹ As of March 31, 2025, 7,160 nationals of Nepal were covered by TPS according to USCIS.¹⁷²

Palestinians

Four months into the war in Gaza that followed the October 2023 attacks and hostage-taking (led by the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas) in Israel, President Biden issued a memorandum on February 14, 2024, granting DED to certain Palestinians in the United States through August 13, 2025, and citing "significantly deteriorated" humanitarian conditions in the "Palestinian territories, and primarily Gaza."¹⁷³ The conflict, which remains ongoing, has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties and generated a humanitarian crisis in Gaza amid mass displacement.¹⁷⁴

Before the DED grant expired on August 13, 2025, eligible individuals could apply to DHS for work authorization and would not be subject to removal from the United States for 18 months from the date of the memorandum. Non-U.S. citizens of any nationality (or those with no nationality) who are Palestinian arewere eligible. Individuals who have returned voluntarily to the "Palestinian territories" (the West Bank and Gaza) after February 14, 2024, or who havehad not continuously resided in the United States since February 14, 2024, arewere ineligible. Palestinians who pose certain security or foreign policy risks arewere also ineligible.¹⁴⁷175

Somalia

Somalia has endured decades of chronic instability and humanitarian crises. Since the collapse of the authoritarian Siad Barre regime in 1991, it has lacked a viable central authority capable of exerting territorial control, securing its borders, or providing security and services to its people.¹⁴⁸176 Somalia was first designated for TPS in 1991 based on "extraordinary and temporary conditions … that prevent aliens who are nationals of Somalia from returning to Somalia in safety."¹⁴⁹177 Through 27 subsequent extensions or redesignations, Somalia has maintained TPS due to insecurity and ongoing armed conflict that present serious threats to the safety of returnees. Most recently, DHS Secretary Mayorkas extended Somalia's designation for another 18 months through March 17, 2026; at the same time, he redesignated Somalia, moving the cutoff date forward and thereby allowing additional individuals who have been continuously residing in the United States since July 12, 2024, to apply.¹⁵⁰178 DHS estimated that approximately 4,300 individuals may become newly eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Somalia.¹⁵¹179 As of September 30, 2024, 605March 31, 2025, 705 nationals of Somalia were covered by TPS according to USCIS.¹⁸⁰.¹⁵²

Sudan and South Sudan

Decades of civil war preceded South Sudan's secession from the Republic of Sudan in 2011.¹⁵³181 Citing both ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions that would prevent the safe return of Sudanese nationals, the Attorney General designated Sudan for TPS on November 4, 1997. Since then, Sudan has been redesignated or had its designation extended 1516 times.

On July 9, 2011, South Sudan became a new nation.¹⁵⁴182 With South Sudan's independence from the Republic of Sudan, questions arose about whether nationals of the new nation would continue to be eligible for TPS. In response, then-Secretary Napolitano designated South Sudan for TPS on October 17, 2011.¹⁵⁵183 Civil war broke out there in 2013, and TPS has been extended or redesignated nineten times since 2011 due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in South Sudan. The most recent2023 extension announcement cited "violence and human rights abuses affecting civilians, as well as environmental, health, and food security concerns."¹⁵⁶ The latest184 That extension was for 18 months and expires on May 3, 2025.¹⁵⁷ This extension was accompanied by a redesignation, which allows nationals of South Sudan who have been continuously residing in the United States since September 3, 2023, to apply for TPS. South Sudan's designation was set to expire on May 3, 2025,¹⁸⁵ but was automatically extended for six months, until November 3, 2025. By statute, if the Secretary does not make a determination about whether a country continues to meet the conditions for designation 60 days prior to the current designation's expiration, the designation is automatically extended for six months.¹⁸⁶ The Federal Register notice announcing the six-month extension stated, "The Secretary was unable to make an informed determination on South Sudan's designation by the March 4, 2025 statutory deadline due to the lack of an updated analysis of current country conditions in South Sudan."¹⁸⁷ As of March 31, 2025, 210As of September 30, 2024, 175 nationals of South Sudan were covered by TPS according to USCIS.¹⁸⁸ In September 2017, citing.¹⁵⁸

Citing improved conditions in Sudan, including a reduction in violence and an increase in food harvests, then-Acting DHS Secretary Duke announced in September 2017 that Sudan's TPS designation would expire on November 2, 2018.¹⁵⁹189 The termination was put on hold due to a legal challenge.¹⁶⁰190

On March 2, 2022, Secretary Mayorkas announced a new, 18-month designation for Sudan based on extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent Sudanese from returning safely. The announcement stated, "The recent military takeover of Sudan's government has triggered political instability, violence, and human rights abuses against civilians. A humanitarian crisis linked to unprecedented floods; food and clean water shortages; violence between the communities of Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan; and internal displacement is ongoing."¹⁶¹191 This new designation applied to nationals of Sudan who had been living in the United States since March 1, 2022, including those who benefited from the previous TPS designation for Sudan.¹⁶²192 Civil war broke out in Sudan in April 2023. In August 2023, DHS extended Sudan's designation for another 18 months, through April 19, 2025, based on extraordinary and temporary conditions.¹⁶³193 DHS also redesignated Sudan for TPS, allowing additional Sudanese nationals who have been residing in the United States since August 16, 2023, to apply for TPS. DHS estimates that an additional 2,750 Sudanese may be eligible for TPS under this redesignation.¹⁶⁴ As of September 30, 2024, 1,635194 In January 2025, Secretary Mayorkas extended Sudan's designation for an additional 18 months, through October 19, 2026.¹⁹⁵ As of March 31, 2025, 1,790 nationals of Sudan were covered by TPS according to USCIS.¹⁹⁶.¹⁶⁵

Syria

The political uprising of 2011 in Syria grew into a protracted civil war; as of late 2022, 5.6early 2025, 4.4 million Syrians were registered as refugees in neighboring countries and 6.9 million remained7.4 million had been internally displaced.¹⁶⁶ On March 29,197 In 2012, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano designated Syria for TPS, citing temporary extraordinary conditions that would make it unsafe for Syrian nationals already in the United States to return to the country.¹⁶⁷ In that initial granting of TPS, Secretary Napolitano198 In the press release announcing the 2012 designation, the Secretary made clear that DHS would conduct full background checks on Syrians registering for TPS.¹⁶⁸199

TPS for Syrian nationals has since been extended in 18-month increments on the bases of ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions. The extension on August 1, 2016,2016 extension was accompanied by a redesignation, which updated the required arrival date into the United States for Syrians from January 5, 2015, to August 1, 2016.¹⁶⁹200 The first Trump Administration subsequently extended Syria's designation twice without redesignating; thus, Syrians who entered the United States after August 1, 2016, remained ineligible.¹⁷⁰201 The Biden Administration has extended (for 18 months each) and redesignated Syria for TPS three times.¹⁷¹202 The latest redesignation allowsallowed Syrian nationals who havehad been residing in the United States since January 25, 2024, to apply for TPS. DHS estimated that approximately 2,500 individuals maywould be newly eligible for TPS under the latest redesignation, which is set to expire on September 30, 2025.²⁰³.¹⁷² As of September 30, 2024, 3,750March 31, 2025, 3,860 nationals of Syria were covered by TPS according to USCIS.²⁰⁴.¹⁷³

Ukraine

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.¹⁷⁴205 The United States and its allies have condemned the invasion and provided military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine; imposed trade and financial sanctions on Russia; and enhanced their own military deterrence posture.¹⁷⁵206 The invasion triggered massive refugee flows to neighboring countries and led to millions of people being internally displaced.¹⁷⁶207

On March 3, 2022, DHS Secretary Mayorkas announced the designation of Ukraine for TPS for 18 months.¹⁷⁷208 DHS cited the armed conflict and extraordinary conditions that preventprevented Ukrainians from returning safely to Ukraine. The announcement stated, "This invasion has caused a humanitarian crisis with significant numbers of individuals fleeing and damage to civilian infrastructure that has left many without electricity or water or access to food, basic supplies, shelter, and emergency medical services."¹⁷⁸ DHS's original announcement of TPS for Ukraine stated that certain Ukrainian nationals who have continuously resided in the United States since March 1, 2022, may apply for TPS.¹⁷⁹ However, in the Federal Register notice published on April 19, 2022, DHS established an arrival cutoff date of April 11, 2022.¹⁸⁰ Thus, Ukrainians who traveled to the United States between March 1 and April 11, 2022, were also eligible to apply for TPS.209 DHS estimated that 59,600 Ukrainians would be eligible to apply.

²¹⁰

In August 2023, DHS extended Ukraine's designation for another 18 months, through April 19, 2025, citing ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions.¹⁸¹211 DHS also redesignated Ukraine for TPS, allowing additional Ukrainian nationals who havehad been residing in the United States since August 16, 2023, to apply for TPS. DHS estimatesestimated that an additional 166,700 Ukrainian nationals maywould be eligible for TPS under this redesignation.¹⁸² As of September 30, 2024, 63,425212 In January 2025, Secretary Mayorkas extended Ukraine's designation for an additional 18 months, through October 19, 2026, citing ongoing armed conflict and widespread humanitarian suffering.²¹³ As of March 31, 2025, 101,150 nationals of Ukraine were covered by TPS according to USCIS.²¹⁴.¹⁸³

Venezuela

Venezuela is in a deep crisis under the authoritarian rule of Nicolás Maduro. Narrowly elected in 2013 after the death of populist President Hugo Chávez, Maduro began a second term in January 2019 that was widely considered illegitimate.¹⁸⁴215 Maduro also claimed victory in the July 2024 presidential election, but international observers concluded that itthe election did not meet international standards. By most accounts, Maduro's government has mismanaged the economy and engaged in massive corruption, exacerbating the effects of a decline in global oil prices and production on the country's economy. Shortages in food and medicine, declines in purchasing power, and a collapse of social services have created a humanitarian crisis.¹⁸⁵216

During 2019, some Members of Congress and nonprofit organizations requested that the Trump Administration designate Venezuela for TPS,¹⁸⁶217 and the House passed a bill (H.R. 549) that would have designated Venezuela for TPS for 18 months.¹⁸⁷218 A Senate effort in July 2020 to pass H.R. 549 by unanimous consent failed. In response to a letter requesting TPS for Venezuela, the acting director of USCIS stated that USCIS would not recommend any new countries for TPS "until such time as federal courts resume following federal law," referring to court decisions to enjoin the Trump Administration's terminations of TPS designations for several countries.¹⁸⁸219 The first Trump Administration never designated Venezuela for TPS. However, on histhe last full day in officeof his first term, President Trump granted DED for 18 months for Venezuelans present in the United States as of January 20, 2021, asserting that the Maduro regime iswas responsible for "the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere in recent memory."¹⁸⁹220 Venezuela's DED grant expired on July 20, 2022.

The Biden Administration determined that Venezuela met the statutory conditions for a TPS designation on the basis of extraordinary and temporary conditions.²²¹ Unlike DED, designating Venezuela for TPS allows those who qualify to obtain an immigration status and documentation thereof;documentation of their status;²²² it also requires that the Administration reconsider country conditions on a periodic basis and extend or terminate the status accordingly.²²³ On March 8, 2021, DHS Secretary Mayorkas announced an 18-month TPS designation for Venezuela, citing the following factors:

economic contraction; inflation and hyperinflation; deepening poverty; high levels of unemployment; reduced access to and shortages of food and medicine; a severely weakened medical system; the reappearance or increased incidence of certain communicable diseases; a collapse in basic services; water, electricity, and fuel shortages; political polarization; institutional and political tensions; human rights abuses and repression; crime and violence; corruption; increased human mobility and displacement (including internal migration, emigration, and return); and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors.¹⁹⁰224

USCIS estimated that approximately 323,000 individuals were eligible to file applications for TPS under this designation of Venezuela.¹⁹¹

225

On July 11, 2022, DHS announced an 18-month extension of Venezuela's TPS.¹⁹²226 Despite calls to allow Venezuelans who arrived after March 8, 2021, to apply for TPS,¹⁹³227 the extension was not accompanied by a redesignation to move the arrival date forward.¹⁹⁴228 However, in September 2023, six months before Venezuela's TPS designation was set to expire, Secretary Mayorkas announced that an extension and redesignation were warranted "based on Venezuela's increased instability and lack of safety due to the enduring humanitarian, security, political, and environmental conditions."¹⁹⁵ 229 Unlike most extensions that are accompanied by a redesignation, this extension and redesignation arewere separate actions that applyapplied to distinct populations. The extension—which beginsbegan on March 11, 2024, and goes through September 10, 2025—appliesapplied to individuals who arrived in the United States on or before March 8, 2021, and arewere covered by the initial TPS designation from 2021.¹⁹⁶230 The redesignation appliesapplied to those who arrived by July 31, 2023, and lasts untilhad an expiration date of April 2, 2025.²³¹ In an effort to deter additional migration from Venezuela based on hopes of qualifying for TPS, Secretary Mayorkas noted in a press release that, "it is critical that Venezuelans understand that those who have arrived here after July 31, 2023, are not eligible for such protection, and instead will be removed when they are found to not have a legal basis to stay."¹⁹⁷232 DHS estimated that the redesignation would make approximately 472,000 additional Venezuelans in the United States eligible for TPS.¹⁹⁸ As of September 30, 2024, 505,400 nationals of Venezuela were covered by TPS: 256,625 under the 2021 designation and 248,775 under the 2023 redesignation.¹⁹⁹

Yemen

On September 3, 2015, then-DHS Secretary Johnson designated Yemen for TPS for 18 months due to ongoing armed conflict in the country.²⁰⁰233 A few days before the end of the Biden Administration, Secretary Mayorkas announced an 18-month extension of Venezuela's 2023 designation, which had been set to expire on April 2, 2025.²³⁴ The Federal Register notice announcing the extension stated that Venezuelans registered for TPS under both the 2023 and 2021 designations could apply to extend their status through October 2, 2026.²³⁵ Shortly after taking office, Secretary Noem vacated²³⁶ Secretary Mayorkas's decision and announced a termination of Venezuela's 2023 designation.²³⁷ In her decision, she stated that her review of country conditions had revealed "notable improvements in several areas such as the economy, public health, and crime that allow for these nationals to be safely returned to their home country."²³⁸ Secretary Noem also argued that "even assuming the relevant conditions in Venezuela remain both 'extraordinary' and 'temporary,' termination of the 2023 Venezuela TPS designation is required because it is contrary to the national interest" to allow Venezuelan TPS recipients to remain temporarily in the country; she cited public safety, foreign policy, migration, and economic concerns.²³⁹ The termination was the subject of a lawsuit.²⁴⁰ As of the cover date of this report, the termination has taken effect, but certain beneficiaries are to maintain their status during the course of the litigation.²⁴¹ As of March 31, 2025, 605,015 nationals of Venezuela were covered by TPS: 252,825 under the 2021 designation and 352,190 under the 2023 redesignation according to USCIS.²⁴² Yemen On September 3, 2015, Yemen was designated for TPS for 18 months due to ongoing armed conflict in the country.²⁴³ A 2015 DHS press release stated that "requiring Yemeni nationals in the United States to return to Yemen would pose a serious threat to their personal safety."²⁰¹244 Since 2015, the war in Yemen has internally displaced more than 4.3 million people.²⁰²245 According to thea 2022 United Nations report, Yemen is experiencing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with nearly three-quarters of the population in need of humanitarian assistance.²⁰³246 Relief efforts in the region have been complicated by ongoing violence and considerable damage to the country's infrastructure.²⁰⁴247

On January 4, 2017, DHS extended and redesignated Yemen's current TPS designation through September 3, 2018. The redesignation updated the required arrival date into the United States for individuals from Yemen from September 3, 2015, to January 4, 2017.²⁰⁵248 The Federal Register notice explained that the "continued deterioration of the conditions for civilians in Yemen and the resulting need to offer protection to individuals who have arrived in the United States after the eligibility cutoff dates" warranted the redesignation of TPS.²⁰⁶249 The first Trump Administration twice extended Yemen's TPS designation for durations of 18 months each, but kept the arrival cutoff date the same.²⁰⁷250 The Biden Administration has extended and redesignated Yemen's TPS three times (in July 2021, January 2023, and July 2024), citing ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary conditions, including "high levels of food insecurity, limited access to water and medical care, and the large-scale destruction of Yemen's infrastructure."²⁰⁸251 Each extension was for 18 months, and the latest one expiresis set to expire on March 3, 2026.²⁰⁹252 As of September 30, 2024, 1,975March 31, 2025, 1,380 nationals of Yemen were covered by TPS according to USCIS.²⁵³.²¹⁰

State of Residence of TPS Recipients

Individuals with TPS reside in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. The largest populations live in traditional immigrant gateway states: Florida, Texas, New York, and California. In addition to these, 15, 14 other states had at least 10,000 TPS recipients as of September 30, 2024March 31, 2025: Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, IllinoisIndiana, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, IndianaVirginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and ColoradoColorado, and South Carolina (see Figure 1 and Table 3). One-third (33%)Thirty-one percent of those covered by TPS reside in Florida; most of these individuals are Venezuelan (5957%) or Haitian (3536%).

Figure 1. Individuals with Temporary Protected Status by State of Residence As of September 30, 2024 March 31, 2025

Source: CRS presentation of data provided by USCIS. Notes: These data reflect the number of individuals (rounded to the nearest five) with an approved TPS application as of September 30, 2024March 31, 2025, who had not obtained LPR status or U.S. citizenship. The data may include individuals who have moved to another state, left the country, or died since their last TPS approval, and do not necessarily include all nationals from the specified countries who are in the United States and are eligible for the status.

Adjustment of Status

A grant of TPS does not provide a recipient with a designated pathway to LPR status; however, a TPS recipient is not barred from acquiring nonimmigrant or immigrant status if he or she meets the requirements.²¹¹ There are statutory limitations on Congress providing adjustment of status to TPS recipientsLong-Standing TPS Designations During the congressional discussions that preceded the creation of TPS in 1990, questions arose about what to do in the case of protracted crises in designated countries. Should there be a maximum time limit for TPS designations? Should TPS beneficiaries who had been covered for a certain length of time be eligible to adjust to LPR status?²⁵⁴ Congress did not enact provisions directly addressing these questions. However, it did include a limitation on Congress providing adjustment of status to TPS beneficiaries. Section 244(h) of the INA (8 U.S.C. §1254a(h)) states that the consideration of any bill, resolution, or amendment that provides for the adjustment to lawful temporary or lawful permanent resident status forof any TPS recipient requires a supermajority in the Senate"shall not be in order in the Senate" unless a supermajority (i.e., three-fifths of all Senators) voting affirmatively.

votes to waive this rule.

Over the years, Congress has provided for the adjustment to LPR status forof certain groups of foreign nationals who had been given TPS or DED. In 1992, Congress enacted legislation allowing Chinese nationals who had DED following the Tiananmen Square massacre to adjust to LPR status (P.L. 102-404). The Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) (Title II of P.L. 105-100), which became law in 1997, provided eligibility for LPR status to certain Nicaraguans, Cubans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans (some of whom were covered by TPS), and nationals of the former Soviet bloc who had applied for asylum and had been living in the United States for a certain period of time. The 116^th Congress incorporated Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness provisions into the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act; it allowed allowing Liberians who had been continuously present in the United States since November 2014 (many of whom had been covered by TPS and/or DED) and their family members to apply for LPR status.²⁵⁵ President Trump signed it into law on December 20, 2019 (P.L. 116-92, §7611).

Other legislation to allow persons with TPS to adjust to LPR status received action in past Congresses but has not been enacted. For instance, the Senate-passed comprehensive immigration reform bill in the 113^th Congress (S. 744) did not include specific provisions for foreign nationals with TPS to adjust status, but many would have qualified for the registered provisional immigrant status that S. 744 would have established and been eligible to apply for LPR status after 10 years.²¹²

Two Over the past decade, there has been debate about whether other groups of foreign nationals who have been living in the United States for long periods of time with TPS or DED should have a pathway to LPR status. In particular, the large number of Central Americans and Haitians with TPS who have decades of U.S. residence and resulting substantial economic and family ties have led some to support a pathway to LPR status for TPS holders from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua (among others). Supporters have argued that ongoing violence, political unrest, and subsequent natural disasters have left these countries unable to adequately handle the return of their nationals and that a large-scale return could have negative consequences for the U.S. economy and labor supply, American families, foreign relations, and the flow of remittances sent by TPS beneficiaries living in the United States to their relatives abroad.²⁵⁶ Opponents have argued that ending the TPS designations for these countries is consistent with congressional intent—to provide temporary safe haven—and that the conditions that warranted the original designations based on natural disasters are no longer extant.²⁵⁷ The second Trump Administration has taken this view and argued that long-standing TPS designations represent an abuse of congressional intent.²⁵⁸ It has terminated every TPS designation due to expire to date, with the exception of South Sudan.²⁵⁹ Legislative Activity in Recent Congresses

Bills related to TPS and DED have been introduced in recent Congresses. A few have seen legislative action. One has been enacted. The FY2025 budget reconciliation act (P.L. 119-21), which was enacted into law on July 4, 2025, increased the TPS application fee and the employment authorization fee for TPS holders.

Two other bills that would have provided LPR status to certain TPS and DED recipients passed the House in the 117^th Congress. Title II of the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 (H.R. 6) would have allowed individuals who were eligible for TPS as of January 1, 2017, or DED as of January 20, 2021, and who had been in the United States for three years to become LPRs. These provisions would have applied to nationals of 14 countries. H.R. 6 also included a provision (§203) that would have clarified that TPS recipients are considered "inspected and admitted" for purposes of adjustment to LPR status.²¹³260 The Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 (H.R. 1603) would have established a process for certain farm workers in the United States to obtain a legal temporary status and then LPR status. TPS and DED recipients who met the farm work and other requirements under the bill would have been eligible. H.R. 6 and H.R. 1603 passed the House on March 18, 2021. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on H.R. 6 on June 15, 2021; no further action was taken on these two bills ineither bill during the 117^th Congress. Similar bills have been introduced in the 118^th Congress (the American Dream and Promise Act of 2023, H.R. 16; the DIGNIDAD Act of 2023, H.R. 3599; and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2023, H.R. 4319); they have not seen additional legislative actionsaw no legislative action in the 118^th Congresses and have seen no legislative action in the 119^th Congress as of the cover date of this report.²⁶¹ Other bills on TPS and DED introduced in recent Congresses have received no action beyond committee referral. Bills before the 119^th Congress include measures

Legislative Activity in the 118^th Congress

Various bills related to TPS and DED have been introduced in the 118^th Congress.²¹⁴ These include bills that would designate certain countries for TPS,²¹⁵262 or make TPS and DED beneficiaries eligible for federal financial aid for higher education,²¹⁶ make TPS and DED beneficiaries eligible for congressional employment,²¹⁷ make TPS beneficiaries eligible for enlistment in the Armed Forces,²¹⁸ prohibit information from TPS applications to be used for removal proceedings,²¹⁹ and provide for adjustment to LPR status for certain TPS and DED recipients.²²⁰ Other bills introduced in the 118^th Congress seek to limit TPS or DED, such as by.²⁶³ Other introduced bills seek to limit TPS or DED, such as by requiring an act of Congress to designate a country for TPS,²⁶⁴ nullifying DED for Palestinians,²²¹265 or making ineligible for TPS individuals who (1) are members of criminal gangs,²²²266 (2) hold travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority,²²³267 or (3) lack a lawful immigration status.²²⁴268 One bill takesintroduced in the 118^th Congress that has not been reintroduced to date during the 119^th Congress would have taken a multi-pronged approach that includesincluded requiring congressional approval for extensions of TPS designations beyond a country's first extension; prohibiting designations for countries whose designations had been terminated in the previous 18 months under certain conditions; making individuals who entered the United States unlawfully ineligible for TPS; limiting DHS authority to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility for TPS applicants; and imposing additional restrictions on TPS recipients who travel abroad.²²⁵

269

Footnotes

10 INA §209(a) (8 U.S.C. §1159(a)). Safe haven is a general term, not defined in federal statute or regulation, which refers to the practice of allowing certain classes of aliens to remain in the United States in order to avoid returning them to countries experiencing dangerous conditions. Safe haven benefits individuals who entered the country without permission as well as those who had permission to enter and remain temporarily. It is a form of blanket relief (i.e., relief from removal that is administered to a group of individuals based on their ties to a foreign country; this stands in contrast to asylum, which is a form of relief administered on a case-by-case basis to individuals based on their personal circumstances).

Claire Bergeron, "Temporary Protected Status after 25 Years: Addressing the Challenge of Long-term 'Temporary' Residents and Strengthening a Centerpiece of U.S. Humanitarian Protection," Journal on Migration and Human Security, vol. 2, no. 1 (2014), pp. 22-43; Sarah Anchors, "Temporary Protected Status: Making the Designation Process More Credible, Fair, and Transparent," Arizona State Law Journal, vol. 39, no. 2 (Summer 2007), pp. 565-600; Susan Gzesh, Central Americans and Asylum Policy in the Reagan Era, Migration Policy Institute, Migration Information Source, April 1, 2006; Representative Bruce Morrison, "Central American Studies and Temporary Relief Act of 1989," Remarks on the House floor, Congressional Record, vol. 135 (October 25, 1989), p. 25833; U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs, Testimony of American Civil Liberties Union representatives, Hearing on Temporary Safe Haven for Salvadorans, 100^th Cong., 1^st sess., June 18, 1987, S. Hrg. 100-352, pp. 116-131; Lynda J. Oswald, "Extended Voluntary Departure: Limiting the Attorney General's Discretion in Immigration Matters," Michigan Law Review, vol. 85, no. 1 (1986), pp. 152-190; U.S. Congress, House Committee on Rules, Temporary Suspension of Deportation on El Salvador Refugees, report to accompany H.R. 4447, 98+ Cong., 2^nd sess., H. Rept. 98-1142, part 1. October 4, 1984; and Myra MacPherson, "Caught in the Storm of Sanctuary," Washington Post, March 12, 1985. 24. INA §244(b)(3)(C). Extensions may be for 6, 12, or 18 months each. . 32. 37. 39. 47. 53. 65. See U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Designation of Honduras for Temporary Protected Status,"82 Federal Register 59630-59636, December 15, 2017.

88. 94. 122. For more information on litigation related to TPS terminations during the first Trump Administration, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10541, Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Certain Countries: Recent Litigation Developments. 136. 140. 146. 148. 173. 175. 188. 196. 214. 224. 232. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Termination of the October 3, 2023 Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 9040-9044, February 5, 2025. 242. 264. , H.R. 3194, H.R. 3599, H.R. 4319, H.R. 7298, S. 365, S. 1392, S. 1727, and S. 4069.

1.	Alien is the term used in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to mean anyone who is not a citizen or national of the United States. It is synonymousIn this report, it is used synonymously with foreign national. See INA §101(a)(3) (8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(3)).
2.	See CRS Report R42866, Permanent Legal Immigration to the United States: Policy Overview.
3.	See CRS Report R45040, Immigration: Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Admissions to Nonimmigrants are admitted for temporary durations and specific purposes (e.g., students, tourists, temporary workers). For more information, see CRS Report R47848, Nonimmigrant Overstays: Overview and Policy Issues. Parolees are permitted to enter the United States and remain for the duration of the grant of parole. For more information, see CRS Report R46570, Immigration Parole. 3the United States.
4.	See CRS Report R47848, Nonimmigrant Overstays: Overview and Policy Issues.
5.	For more information, see CRS Report R45158, An Overview of Discretionary Reprieves from Removal: Deferred Action, DACA, TPS, and Others.
64.	8 U.S.C. §1254a.
75.	The term blanket relief in this report refers to relief from removal that is administered to a group of individuals based on their ties to a foreign country; this stands in contrast to asylum, which is a form of relief administered on a case-by-case basis to individuals based on their personal circumstances.
86.	The 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which was amended by its 1967 Protocol, defines who is a refugee and sets out the legal, social, and other kinds of protections that refugees and those seeking asylum are entitled to receive. It also states the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum. United Nations High CommissionCommissioner for Refugees, Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Its 1967 Protocol, Geneva, Switzerland, https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/about-us/background/4ec262df9/1951-convention-relating-status-refugees-its-1967-protocol.html.
9us/media/convention-and-protocol-relating-status-refugees. 7.	INA §208 (8 U.S.C. §1158); INA §241(b)(3) (8 U.S.C. §1231(b)(3)); and INA §101(a)(42) (8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(42)).
10. 8.	INA §101(a)(42) (8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(42)). In certain circumstances specified in INA §101(a)(42)(B), a refugee may be within his/her country of nationality or habitual residence.
9.	INA §208(b)(1)(A) (8 U.S.C. §1158(b)(1)(A)).
11.	See CRS Report R45539, Immigration: U.S. Asylum Policy; and CRS Report RL31269, Refugee Admissions and Resettlement Policy.
12.	The term blanket relief refers toR47399, U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.	11.	12.
13.	Foreign nationals outside the United States are not eligible to apply for TPS.
14Approximately 15 nationalities received EVD between 1960 and 1990. See Lynda J. Oswald, "Extended Voluntary Departure: Limiting the Attorney General's Discretion in Immigration Matters," Michigan Law Review, vol. 85, no. 1 (1986), pp. 152-190; Bill Frelick and Barbara Kohnen, "Filling the Gap: Temporary Protected Status," Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 8, no. 4 (1995), pp. 339-63; and Claire Bergeron, "Temporary Protected Status after 25 Years: Addressing the Challenge of Long-term 'Temporary' Residents and Strengthening a Centerpiece of U.S. Humanitarian Protection," Journal on Migration and Human Security, vol. 2, no. 1 (2014), pp. 22-43.
14.	U.S. Congress, House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law, Temporary Safe Haven Act of 1987, 100th Cong., 1st sess., October 28, 1987, pp. 22-23; and U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs, Temporary Safe Haven for Salvadorans, 100th Cong., 1st sess., June 17, 1987, S. Hrg. 100-352.
15.	Quotation from Arnold Leibowitz, "Section 5.05," Immigration Law and Refugee Policy, 1983, p. 5-156. For discussion of debates around U.S. obligations to provide safe haven under international law, see Susan Martin et al., "Temporary Protection: Toward a New Regional and Domestic Framework," Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, vol. 12 (1998), pp. 543-587; Lynda J. Oswald, "Extended Voluntary Departure: Limiting the Attorney General's Discretion in Immigration Matters," Michigan Law Review, vol. 85, no. 1 (1986), pp. 152-190; Sarah Anchors, "Temporary Protected Status: Making the Designation Process More Credible, Fair, and Transparent," Arizona State Law Journal, vol. 39, no. 2 (Summer 2007), pp. 565-600; and Charles Gordon et al., Immigration Law and Procedure §33.07[3], revised annually.
16.	For some groups, this happened via an act of Congress; others were able to adjust to permanent status through existing immigration categories.
17.	Robert Lindsey, "A Flood of Refugees from El Salvador Tries to Get Legal Status," New York Times, July 4, 1983; Editorial Writers Desk, "New Voice for Refugees," Los Angeles Times, April 28, 1987; Lee May, "Officials Debate Ways to Reduce Influx of Aliens," Los Angeles Times, February 5, 1989; and U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs, Temporary Safe Haven for Salvadorans, 100th Cong., 1st sess., June 17, 1987, S. Hrg. 100-352, p. 237.
18.	In the 1980s, asylum approval rates were higher for Nicaraguans than Salvadorans. Supporters of providing protection to Salvadorans in the United States argued that Salvadorans were being unfairly denied asylum. They argued that the U.S. Administration's view was that approving asylum applications from Salvadorans would be an admission that the U.S.-supported Salvadoran government violated human rights. To the contrary, they argued, the U.S. Administration was more likely to approve asylum applications from Nicaragua due to U.S. opposition to the Sandinista government. For statistics on asylum approval rates for Salvadorans and other Central Americans, see Peter C. Diamond, "Temporary Protected Status under the Immigration Act of 1990," Willamette Law Review, vol. 28, no. 4 (Fall 1992); U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Policy, Immigration Reform and Control Act, Hearing, 98th Cong., 1st sess., February 24, 1983, S. Hrg. 98-198, p. 465; U.S. Congress, House Committee on Rules, Temporary Suspension of Deportation on El Salvador Refugees, report to accompany H.R. 4447, 98th Cong., 2nd sess., H. Rept. 98-1142, part 1, October 4, 1984; Lynda J. Oswald, "Extended Voluntary Departure: Limiting the Attorney General's Discretion in Immigration Matters," Michigan Law Review, vol. 85, no. 1 (1986), pp. 162; and Claudia Dreifus, "Washington: No Refugees Need Apply," The Atlantic Monthly, February 1987.
19.
20.	See, for example, the Temporary Safe Haven Act of 1987 (H.R. 2922) and the Temporary Safe Haven Act of 1988 (H.R. 4379) in the 100th Congress; and the Chinese and Central American Temporary Protected Status Act of 1989 (H.R. 45), the Chinese Temporary Protected Status Act of 1989 (H.R. 2929), and S. 458 in the 101st Congress.
21.	U.S. Congress, House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law, Temporary Safe Haven Act of 1987, hearing, 100th Cong., 1st sess., October 28, 1987.
22.	Ibid, p. 2.
23.	Representative McCollum, "Central American Studies and Temporary Relief Act of 1989," Remarks on the House floor, Congressional Record, vol. 135 (October 25, 1989), p. 25834; U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Providing for a GAO Study on Conditions of Displaced Salvadorans and Nicaraguans, and for Other Purposes, Minority Views of Senator Alan K. Simpson, 101st Cong., 2nd sess., February 1, 1990, S. Rept. 101-241, pp. 14-22; and "Congress Approves Major Immigration Reform," Interpreter Releases, vol. 67, no. 41 (October 29, 1990).
When TPS was enacted in 1990, most immigration-related functions, including designating countries for TPS, fell under the authority of the Attorney General. With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002 (P.L. 107-296), most of the Attorney General's immigration-related authority transferred to the Secretary of DHS as of March 1, 2003.
1525.	INA §244(b)(1)(C) (8 U.S.C. §1254a(b)(1)(C)).
1626.	INA §244(b)(2) (8 U.S.C. §1254a(b)(2)).
27.	See INA §244(b)(3).
28.	INA §244(b)(3)(B).
29.	There is no limit on the number of extensions a country can receive.
1730.	This date is typically the same or very near to the date of the designation announcement.
18that the designation is announced by DHS (which may be before it is published in the Federal Register).
31.	Redesignation has also been used to refer to cases in which a country is designated for TPS for a different or additional reason than previously designated (e.g., initially designated on the basis of armed conflict, and subsequently designated on the basis of a natural disaster). Redesignation is not defined in the TPS statute. According to USCIS officials, from 1997 through 2017, DHS used the term "redesignate" for instances in which the Secretary of Homeland Security newly designated a country for TPS after an initial designation or extension period. During the two Trump Administrations, DHS has used the term "newly designate" for these decisions.
In addition to nationals of designated countries, TPS statute provides that persons with no nationality who "last habitually resided in such designated state" are eligible to apply. INA §244(a)(1) (8 U.S.C. §1254a(a)(1)).
19.	Fees for initial applicants include a $50 application fee (may not exceed $50 per 8 U.S.C. §1254a(c)(1)(B)), a $410 filing fee for employment authorization (if applying for employment authorization and between the ages of 14 and 65), and an $85 biometrics services fee for those age 14 and over. Applicants may request a waiver of the application and biometrics fees per 8 C.F.R. §103.7(c). Reregistration does not require the $50 application fee, but the other fees apply.
20.	See 8 C.F.R. §244.9 for details on evidence that must be submitted.
2133.	"Continuously physically present" is defined in regulation as "actual physical presence in the United States for the entire period specified in the regulations." "Continuously resided" is defined as "residing in the United States for the entire period specified in the regulations." 8 C.F.R. §244.1.
34.	INA 244(c)(1)(A).
35.	INA 244(c)(2)(B).
36.	These ineligibilities are found in INA §208(b)(2)(A) (8 U.S.C. §1158(b)(2)(A)).
Section 212 of the INA specifies broad grounds on which foreign nationals are considered ineligible to receive visas and ineligible to be admitted to the United States (see CRS In Focus IF12662, Immigration: Grounds of Inadmissibility). Section 244(c)(2) in the TPS statute listsof the INA specifies which of these grounds of inadmissibilitygrounds may be waived and which may not be waived.
22 for TPS applicants.
38.	See 8 C.F.R. §244.9 for details on evidence that must be submitted.
INA §244(a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (d)(4) (8 USC §1254a (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (d)(4)).
2340.	INA §244(f) (8 U.S.C. §1254a(f)).
2441.	For purposes of adjustment to lawful permanent residentLPR status or a change to a nonimmigrant status, an individual granted TPS is considered as being in and maintaining "lawful status as a nonimmigrant" during the period in which the alien is granted TPS. INA §244(f)(4) (8 U.S.C. §1254a(f)(4)). To adjust to LPR status, an individual generally must have been "inspected and admitted or paroled" into the United States (INA §245(a), 8 U.S.C. §1255(a)). In recent years, some federal courts have addressed whether aliens who unlawfully entered the United States but later received TPS are considered to be "inspected and admitted" into the United States. Circuit courts were split on this issue. On June 7, 2021, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that TPS does not constitute an admission. For more information, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10554, Are Temporary Protected Status Recipients Eligible to Adjust Status? and CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10607, Supreme Court: Unlawful Entrants with Temporary Protected Status Cannot Adjust to Lawful Permanent Resident Status. 42
25.	8 C.F.R. §244.16.
2643.	8 C.F.R. §244.14.
2744.	DED is not to be confused with deferred action, which the Department of Homeland Security defines as "a discretionary determination to defer removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion." For more information, see CRS Report R45158, An Overview of Discretionary Reprieves from Removal: Deferred Action, DACA, TPS, and Others; and CRS Report R45995, Unauthorized Childhood Arrivals, DACA, and Related Legislation.
28.	EVD status, which was used from 1960 to 1990, was given to nationals of Iran, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Poland, and Uganda. Other countries whose nationals have benefitted in the past from a status similar to EVD include Cambodia, Chile, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, Hungary, Laos, Romania, and Vietnam.
29.	See, for example, Executive Order 12711, "Policy Implementation With Respect to Nationals of the People's Republic of China," Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George Bush XLI, President of the United States: 1989-1993 (Washington: GPO, 1990); The White House (President Obama), Office of the Press Secretary, "Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of Homeland Security, September 28, 2016; The White House (President Trump), Office of the Press Secretary, "Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Venezuelans," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, January 19, 2021.
3045.	In general, the President directs executive agencies to implement procedures to provide DED and related benefits, such as employment authorization. See, for example, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/complete-correct-form-i-9/temporary-protected-status-and-deferred-enforced-departure.
3146.	This paragraph covers DED grants from 1990 to 2021. For information on EVD grants (prior to 1990), see Lynda J. Oswald, "Extended Voluntary Departure: Limiting the Attorney General's Discretion in Immigration Matters," Michigan Law Review, vol. 85, no. 1 (1986), pp. 152-190; and Bill Frelick and Barbara Kohnen, "Filling the Gap: Temporary Protected Status," Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 8, no. 4 (1995), pp. 339-63.	For a current and historical list of TPS designations by country and links to Federal Register announcements, see U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Temporary Protected Status, https://www.justice.gov/eoir/temporary-protected-status. For a graph showing effective dates, bases for designation, and types of TPS decisions for FY1990–FY2019, see U.S. Government Accountability Office, Temporary Protected Status: Steps Taken to Inform and Communicate Secretary of Homeland Security's Decisions, GAO-20-134, April 2020, p. 11, https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-134.pdf.
32.	Many of the beneficiaries of this DED grant were able to adjust to LPR status through the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-404).
3348.	The Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) (Title II of P.L. 105-100) was enacted in 1997 and provided eligibility for LPR status to certain Nicaraguans, Cubans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans, and nationals of the former Soviet bloc. President Clinton, among others, argued that Haitians deserved similar statutory treatment. The Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) (P.L. 105-277) was enacted in 1998, allowing certain Haitian nationals who were in the United States before December 31, 1995, to adjust to LPR status. For more information, see archived CRS Report RS21349, U.S. Immigration Policy on Haitian Migrants.
34.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "DED Granted Country - Liberia," https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/deferred-enforced-departure/ded-granted-country-liberia/ded-granted-country-liberia.
35.	The White House (President Trump), Office of the Press Secretary, "Extending the Wind-Down Period for Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, March 30, 2020; The White House (President Trump), Office of the Press Secretary, "Extension of Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, March 28, 2019; and The White House (President Trump), Office of the Press Secretary, "Expiration of Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, March 27, 2018.
36.	The White House (President Trump), Office of the Press Secretary, "Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Venezuelans," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, January 19, 2021.
37.	The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Reinstating Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, January 20, 2021.
38.	The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Memorandum on the Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Hong Kong Residents," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, August 5, 2021.
39.	The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Palestinians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, February 14, 2024.
40.	The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Memorandum on the Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Lebanese Nationals," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, July 26, 2024.
41.	Lebanon is not included in this list because it was designated after September 30, 2024.
4249.	This list represents countries for which a TPS termination took effect prior to 2018. For a current and historical list of TPS designations by country and links to Federal Register announcements, see U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Temporary Protected Status, https://www.justice.gov/eoir/temporary-protected-status. For a graph showing effective dates, bases for designation, and types of TPS decisions for FY1990–FY2019, see U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Temporary Protected Status: Steps Taken to Inform and Communicate Secretary of Homeland Security's Decisions, GAO-20-134, April 2020, p. 11, https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-134.pdf.
50.	March 31, 2025, is the date for which USCIS most recently provided data on TPS beneficiaries to CRS. This date also precedes the effective date of any terminations under the second Trump Administration.
51.	This number represents the amount of individuals approved for TPS who had not adjusted to LPR status. Data provided to CRS by USCIS.
52.	Some of the terminations announced by the Trump Administration have effective dates in the future; some are on hold pending litigation.
Prior USCIS data on TPS recipients included some individuals who also had LPR status and some who had become naturalized U.S. citizens. USCIS now provides data on TPS recipients who do not have LPR status or U.S. citizenship. Thus, the numbers used in this report may be lower than those in prior versions of this report and in USCIS's annual TPS report to Congress, and more accurately reflect those who rely on TPS to remain in the United States.
4354.	See CRS Report R46879, U.S. Military Withdrawal and Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan: Frequently Asked Questions.
4455.	See CRS Report R46570, Immigration Parole.
4556.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Fact Sheet on Operation Allies Welcome," November 5, 2021. Available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/21_1110-opa-dhs-resettlement-of-at-risk-afghans.pdf.
4657.	Rebecca Beitsch, "DHS gives temporary protected status to Afghans in US," The Hill, March 16, 2022.
4758.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary Mayorkas Designates Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status," press release, March 16, 2022.
4859.	Ibid.
4960.	Ibid.
5061.	Email to CRS from U.S. Department of Homeland Security, March 17, 2022.
5162.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status," 88 Federal Register 65728-65737, September 25, 2023.
5263.	Ibid.
5364.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Termination of the Designation of Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 20309-20312, May 13, 2025.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Afghanistan who subsequently obtained LPR status.
5466.	See CRS Insight IN11594, Coup in Burma (Myanmar): Issues for U.S. Policy.
5567.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary Mayorkas Designates Burma for Temporary Protected Status," press release, March 12, 2021, https://www.dhs.gov/news/2021/03/12/secretary-mayorkas-designates-burma-temporary-protected-status.
5668.	Ibid.
5769.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status," 86 Federal Register 28132-28137, May 25, 2021; Michele Kelemen, "U.S. Offers Protected Status For People From Myanmar As Coup Leaders Crack Down," National Public Radio, March 12, 2021; Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk, "U.S. grants Myanmar nationals relief from deportation after military coup," Reuters, March 12, 2021; Joe Walsh, "Biden Offers Deportation Relief To Myanmar Nationals Amid Coup Chaos," Forbes, March 12, 2021.
5870.	For more information on country conditions, see U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status," 87 Federal Register 58515-58524, September 27, 2022; and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status," 89 Federal Register 20682-20690, March 25, 2024.
5971.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status," 87 Federal Register 58515-58524, September 27, 2022; and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status," 89 Federal Register 20682-20690, March 25, 2024.
6072.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Burma who subsequently obtained LPR status.
6173.	See CRS Report R46919, Cameroon: Key Issues and U.S. Policy.
6274.	UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Operational Data Portal: Cameroon, data as of September 30, 2023, at https://data.unhcr.org/en/country/cmr.
6375.	UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), "Humanitarian Needs Overview: Cameroon," March 2023.
6476.	See, for example, Senator Richard Blumenthal, "Congressional Democrats Demand Trump Administration Reverse its Barrage of Policies Targeting Asylum Seekers," press release, June 19, 2020, https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/congressional-democrats-demand-trump-administration-reverse-its-barrage-of-policies-targeting-asylum-seekers; Congressional Black Caucus, "The Congressional Black Caucus Sends Letter to ICE with House Committee on Homeland Security to Stop Deportation Flight to Cameroon," press release, October 13, 2020, https://cbc.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2240; and letter from Senator Van Hollen and others to Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, October 28, 2020, available at https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/201028%20Cameroon%20Letter_Signed.pdf.
6577.	See, for example, letter from 42 Members of Congress to President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas, February 17, 2021, available at https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/210217%20TPS%20Cameroon%20On%20Letterhead%20Letter_Final.pdf; and letter from the House Judiciary Committee to Secretary Mayorkas, July 30, 2021, available at https://lofgren.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/lofgren-evo.house.gov/files/7.30.21%20Cameroon%20TPS%20Letter.pdf.
6678.	Human Rights Watch, "'How Can You Throw Us Back?': Asylum Seekers Abused in the US and Deported to Harm in Cameroon," February 10, 2022.
6779.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary Mayorkas Designates Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months," press release, April 15, 2022.
6880.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status," 87 Federal Register 34706-34713, June 7, 2022.
6981.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status," 88 Federal Register 69945-69953, October 10, 2023.
7082.	Ibid.
71.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Cameroon who subsequently obtained LPR status.
72.	For historical analysis, see archived CRS Report IB87205, Immigration Status of Salvadorans and Nicaraguans (available to congressional clients upon request).
73.	U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, "The Designation of Honduras Under Temporary Protected Status," 64 Federal Register 524-526, January 5, 1999; U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, "The Designation of Nicaragua Under83. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Termination of the Designation of Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status," 6490 Federal Register 526-528, January 5, 199923697-23699, June 4, 2025.
74.	U.S. Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service, "The Designation of El Salvador Under Temporary Protected Status," 66 Federal Register 14214-14216, March 9, 2001.
75.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Termination of the Designation of Nicaragua for Temporary Protected Status," 82 Federal Register 59636-59642, December 15, 2017.
76.	84.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Cameroon who subsequently obtained LPR status.
85.	For historical analysis, see archived CRS Report IB87205, Immigration Status of Salvadorans and Nicaraguans (available to congressional clients upon request).
86.
77.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen Announcement on Temporary Protected Status for Honduras," press release, May 4, 2018.
78.	For more information on litigation related to TPS terminations, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10541, Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Certain Countries: Recent Litigation Developments.
79.	Department of Homeland Security, "DHS Rescinds Prior Administration's Termination of Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua," press release, June 13, 2023.
80.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of El Salvador who subsequently obtained LPR status.
81Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) 203: Eligibility to Apply with USCIS," https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-and-asylum/asylum/nicaraguan-adjustment-and-central-american-relief-act-nacara-203-eligibility-to-apply-with-uscis.
87.	U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, "The Designation of El Salvador Under Temporary Protected Status," 66 Federal Register 14214-14216, March 9, 2001.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen Announcement on Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador," press release, January 8, 2018, https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/01/08/secretary-homeland-security-kirstjen-m-nielsen-announcement-temporary-protected.
8289.	For more information on litigation related to TPS terminations during the first Trump Administration, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10541, Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Certain Countries: Recent Litigation Developments.
83.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "U.S. and El Salvador Sign Arrangements on Security and Information Sharing; Give Salvadorans with TPS More Time," press release, October 28, 2019, https://www.dhs.gov/news/2019/10/28/us-and-el-salvador-sign-arrangements-security-information-sharing-give-salvadorans.
8490.	For more information, see U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Continuation of Documentation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal," 87 Federal Register 68717-68725, November 16, 2022.
8591.	Department of Homeland Security, "DHS Rescinds Prior Administration's Termination of Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua," press release, June 13, 2023.
86.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. These numbers do not include TPS-approved nationals of Nicaragua and Honduras who subsequently obtained LPR status.
87.	For information on country conditions, see CRS Report R43616, El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations; CRS In Focus IF12247, Nicaragua; and CRS In Focus IF11151, Central American Migration: Root Causes and U.S. Policy.
8892.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 5953-5961, January 17, 2025.
93.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. These numbers do not include TPS-approved nationals of Nicaragua and Honduras who subsequently obtained LPR status.
See CRS Report R46905, Ethiopia's Transition and the Tigray Conflict.
8995.	See, for example, The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, "Museum Warns of Heightened Risk of Genocide, Mass Atrocities in Ethiopia," October 25, 2022. Peace talks resulted in a November 2, 2022, agreement to stop the fighting, providing a possible path to peace. See U.S. Department of State, "On the African Union-led Peace Talks," November 2, 2022.
9096.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "DHS Designates Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months," press release, October 21, 2022.
9197.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status," 87 Federal Register 76074-76081, December 12, 2022.
9298.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status," 89 Federal Register 26172-26180, April 15, 2024.
9399.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status," 87 Federal Register 76074-76081, December 12, 2022.
94100.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Ethiopia who subsequently obtained LPR status.
95101.	The issue of Haitian TPS had arisen several times prior, most notably after the U.S. Ambassador declared Haiti a disaster in September 2004 due to the magnitude of the effects of Tropical Storm Jeanne. A series of tropical cyclones in 2008 resulted in hundreds of deaths and led some to label the city of Gonaives uninhabitable. The George W. Bush Administration did not grant TPS or another form of blanket relief to Haitians, nor was legislation enacted that would have provided TPS to Haitians, such as H.R. 522 in the 110th Congress. For background information on Haitian migration to the United States, see archived CRS Report RS21349, U.S. Immigration Policy on Haitian Migrants.
96102.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status," 75 Federal Register 3476-3479, January 21, 2010.
97103.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Statement from Secretary Janet Napolitano," press release, January 15, 2010.
98104.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary Napolitano Announces Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian Beneficiaries," press release, May 17, 2011.
99105.	Parole allows an individual, who may be inadmissible or otherwise ineligible for admission into the United States, to be granted authorization to enter the United State for a temporary period. INA §212(d)(5) (8 U.S.C. §1182(d)(5)). For more information, see CRS Report R46570, Immigration Parole.
100106.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Re-designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status," 76 Federal Register 29000-29004, May 19, 2011.
101107.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status," 80 Federal Register 51582-51588, August 25, 2015.
102.	For conditions following Hurricane Matthew, see CRS In Focus IF10502, Haiti: Cholera, the United Nations, and Hurricane Matthew.
103108.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status," 82 Federal Register 23830-23837, May 24, 2017.
104109.	Letter from Paul G. Altidor, Ambassador to the United States from Haiti, to Elaine C. Duke, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, October 4, 2017.
105110.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Acting Secretary Elaine Duke Announcement On Temporary Protected Status For Haiti," press release, November 20, 2017, https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/11/20/acting-secretary-elaine-duke-announcement-temporary-protected-status-haiti.
106111.	For more information on litigation related to TPS terminations during the first Trump Administration, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10541, Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Certain Countries: Recent Litigation Developments.
107112.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary Mayorkas Designates Haiti for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months," press release, May 22, 2021, https://www.dhs.gov/news/2021/05/22/secretary-mayorkas-designates-haiti-temporary-protected-status-18-months. For further information on country conditions, see the "Haiti" section in CRS Report R46781, Latin America and the Caribbean: U.S. Policy and Key Issues in the 117th Congress.
108113.	Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "Menendez, Rubio Urge Biden Administration to Re-designate Haiti for TPS," press release, March 12, 2021, https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/chair/release/-menendez-rubio-urge-biden-administration-to_re-designate-haiti-for-tps.
109114.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status," 86 Federal Register 41863-41871, August 3, 2021.
110115.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status," 88 Federal Register 5022-5032, January 26, 2023.
111116.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status," 89 Federal Register 54484-54496, July 1, 2024.
112117.	Ibid.
118.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Partial Vacatur of 2024 Temporary Protected Status Decision for Haiti," 90 Federal Register 10511-10515, February 24, 2025.
119.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "DHS Terminates Haiti TPS, Encourages Haitians to Obtain Lawful Status," press release, June 27, 2025.
120.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Termination of the Designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 28760-28764, July 1, 2025.
121.	Rae Ann Varona, "NY Judge Blocks DHS from Ending Haitians' Protected Status," Law 360, July 1, 2025.
Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Haiti who subsequently obtained LPR status.
113123.	See CRS In Focus IF10119, China Primer: U.S.-China Relations.
114.	Ibid.
115U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, "The Designation of Honduras Under Temporary Protected Status," 64 Federal Register 524-526, January 5, 1999; U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, "The Designation of Nicaragua Under Temporary Protected Status," 64 Federal Register 526-528, January 5, 1999.
124.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Termination of the Designation of Nicaragua for Temporary Protected Status," 82 Federal Register 59636-59642, December 15, 2017.
125.	INA §244(b)(3)(A) and (C). U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Designation of Honduras for Temporary Protected Status," 82 Federal Register 59630-59636, December 15, 2017.
126.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen Announcement on Temporary Protected Status for Honduras," press release, May 4, 2018.
127.
128.	Department of Homeland Security, "DHS Rescinds Prior Administration's Termination of Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua," press release, June 13, 2023.
129.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the Designation of Honduras for Temporary Protected Status; Extension of the Temporary Protected Status Designation for Honduras," 88 Federal Register 40304-40315, June 21, 2023; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the Designation of Nicaragua for Temporary Protected Status; Extension of the Temporary Protected Status Designation for Nicaragua," 88 Federal Register 40294-40304, June 21, 2023.
130.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Termination of the Designation of Honduras for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 30089-30092, July 8, 2025; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Termination of the Designation of Nicaragua for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 30086-30089, July 8, 2025.
131.	Camilo Montoya-Galvez and Joe Walsh, "Trump administration for now can end deportation protections for thousands from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, court says," CBS News, August 20, 2025.
132.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved individuals who subsequently obtained LPR status.
133.	U.S. Department of State, "G7 Foreign Ministers' Statement on Hong Kong," June 17, 2020.
134.	See CRS Report R47844, Hong Kong Under the National Security Law.
135.	Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken on X, February 28, 2021, https://x.com/SecBlinken/status/1366203489119068168.
The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Memorandum on the Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Hong Kong Residents," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, August 5, 2021.
116137.	Email to CRS from USCIS, January 7, 2022.
117138.	The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Memorandum on Extending and Expanding Eligibility for Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Hong Kong Residents," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, January 26, 2023.
118139.	The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Memorandum on Extending and Expanding Eligibility for Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Hong Kong Residents," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, January 15, 2025.	See CRS In Focus IF10703, Lebanese Hezbollah.
119141.	The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Memorandum on the Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Lebanese Nationals," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, July 26, 2024. The subsequent Federal Register Notice provided implementation details: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Implementation of Employment Authorization for Individuals Covered by Deferred Enforced Departure for Lebanon," 89 Federal Register 83901, October 18, 2024.
120142.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "DHS Offers Protections for Lebanese Nationals Currently in the United States," press release, October 17, 2024, https://www.dhs.gov/news/2024/10/17/dhs-offers-protections-lebanese-nationals-currently-united-states.
121143.	Ibid.
122144.	8 C.F.R. §244.10.
145.	INA §244(b)(3)(A).
Ibid. See also U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status," 89 Federal Register 93641, November 27, 2024.
123147.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved individuals who subsequently obtained LPR status.	See CRS Report RL32243, Liberia: Transition to Peace.
124149.	U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, "Designation of Liberia Under the Temporary Protected Status Program," 67 Federal Register 61664-61667, October 1, 2002.
125150.	See, for example, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Filing Procedures and Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization and Related Documentation for Liberians Provided Deferred Enforced Departure," 75 Federal Register 15715, March 30, 2010; The White House (President Obama), Office of the Press Secretary, "Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of Homeland Security, September 28, 2016.
126151.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Liberia for Temporary Protected Status," 79 Federal Register 69502-69502, November 21, 2014; and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Initial Registration Period for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone for Temporary Protected Status," 80 Federal Register, Number 122, 36551-36552, June 25, 2015.
127152.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Six-Month Extension of Temporary Protected Status Benefits for Orderly Transition Before Termination of Liberia's Designation for Temporary Protected Status," 81 Federal Register 66059-66064, September 26, 2016.
128153.	The White House (President Obama), Office of the Press Secretary, "Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of Homeland Security, September 28, 2016.
129154.	The White House (President Trump), Office of the Press Secretary, "Expiration of Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, March 27, 2018.
130155.	Complaint, African Cmtys. Together v. Trump, No. 1:19-cv-10432 (D. Mass. Mar. 8, 2019).
131156.	The White House (President Trump), Office of the Press Secretary, "Extension of Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, March 28, 2019.
132157.	The initial application deadline was December 20, 2020, but Section 901 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260) extended the deadline to apply for LRIF by one year (to December 20, 2021).
133158.	The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Reinstating Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, January 20, 2021.
134159.	The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Extending and Expanding Eligibility for Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, June 27, 2022.
135160.	Ibid.
136161.	The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Memorandum on Extending Eligibility for Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, June 28, 2024.
137162.	See CRS Report R44303, Nepal: Political Developments and U.S. Relations. For information on more recent country conditions, see and CRS In Focus IF10216, Nepal.
138163.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status," 80 Federal Register 36346-36350, June 24, 2015.
139164.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "ExtensionsExtension of the Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status," 81 Federal Register 74470-74475, October 26, 2016.
140165.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen Announcement on Temporary Protected Status for Nepal," press release, April 26, 2018, https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/04/26/secretary-kirstjen-m-nielsen-announcement-temporary-protected-status-nepal.
141166.	Ibid.
142167.	For more information on litigation related to TPS terminations during the first Trump Administration, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10541, Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Certain Countries: Recent Litigation Developments.
143168.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "DHS Rescinds Prior Administration's Termination of Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua," press release, June 13, 2023.
144.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Nepal who subsequently obtained LPR status.
145.	This paragraph is adapted from CRS Report R47828, Israel and Hamas Conflict In Brief: Overview, U.S. Policy, and Options for Congress.
146169.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status; Extension of the Temporary Protected Status Designation for Nepal," 88 Federal Register 40317-40328, June 21, 2023.
170.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Termination of the Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 24151-24154, June 6, 2025.
171.	Camilo Montoya-Galvez and Joe Walsh, "Trump administration for now can end deportation protections for thousands from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, court says," CBS News, August 20, 2025.
172.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Nepal who subsequently obtained LPR status.
The White House (President Biden), Office of the Press Secretary, "Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Palestinians," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, February 14, 2024.
147174.	For background on the conflict, see CRS Insight IN12487, Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire in Gaza. For information on the impact of conflict since October 2023, see United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), "Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (13 August 2025)," with the underlying source for Palestinian casualties as the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, and the underlying source for Israeli casualties as Israeli authorities.	Ibid. See also U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Implementation of Employment Authorization for Individuals Covered by Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Palestinians," 89 Federal Register 26167-26170, April 15, 2024.
148176.	For more information, see CRS In Focus IF10155, Somalia.
149177.	U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Nationalization Service, "Designation of Nationals of Somalia for Temporary Protected Status," 56 Federal Register 46804-46805, September 16, 1991.
150178.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Somalia for Temporary Protected Status," 89 Federal Register 51535, July 22, 2024.
151179.	Ibid.
152180.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Somalia who subsequently obtained LPR status.
153181.	See CRS In Focus IF10182, Sudan.
154182.	See CRS In Focus IF10218, South Sudan.
155183.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Republic of South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status," 76 Federal Register 63629-63635, October 13, 2011.
156184.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary Mayorkas Extends and Redesignates Temporary Protected Status for South Sudan," press release, September 5, 2023.
157185.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status," 88 Federal Register 60971-60979, September 6, 2023.
158186.	INA §244(b)(3)(A) and (C).
187.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of South Sudan Designation for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 19217-19222, May 6, 2025.
Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of South Sudan who subsequently obtained LPR status.
159189.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Termination of the Designation of Sudan for Temporary Protected Status," 82 Federal Register 47228-47234, October 11, 2017.
160190.	For more information on litigation related to TPS terminations during the first Trump Administration, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10541, Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Certain Countries: Recent Litigation Developments.
161191.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary Mayorkas Designates Sudan and Extends and Redesignates South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status," press release, March 2, 2022.
162192.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Sudan for Temporary Protected Status," 87 Federal Register 23202-23210, April 19, 2022.
163193.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Sudan for Temporary Protected Status," 88 Federal Register 56864-56872, August 21, 2023.
164194.	Ibid.
165195.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Designation of Sudan for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 5944-5953, January 17, 2025.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Sudan who subsequently obtained LPR status.
166197.	See CRS Report R43119, Syria: Overview of the Humanitarian Response; and CRS Report RL33487, Armed Conflict in Syria: OverviewSyria: Transition and U.S. ResponsePolicy.
167198.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Syrian Arab Republic for Temporary Protected Status," 61 Federal Register 19026-19030, March 29, 2012.
168199.	Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, "Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrian Nationals," press release, March 23, 2012, https://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/20120323-napolitano-statement-syria-tps.shtm.
169200.	Previously, Syrians who had arrived in the United States after January 5, 2015, were not eligible for TPS. The redesignation allows Syrians that arrived between January 5, 2015, and August 1, 2016, to be eligible for TPS. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status," 81 Federal Register 50533-50541, August 1, 2016.
170201.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Designation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status," 83 Federal Register 9329-9336, March 5, 2018; and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Designation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status," 84 Federal Register 49751-49757, September 23, 2019.
171202.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status," 86 Federal Register 14946-14952, March 19, 2021; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status," 87 Federal Register 46982-46991, August 1, 2022; and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status," 89 Federal Register 5562-5571, January 29, 2024.
172203.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status," 89 Federal Register 5562-5571, January 29, 2024.
173204.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Syria who subsequently obtained LPR status.
174205.	For more information, see CRS Insight IN11872, Russia's Invasion of Ukraine: Military and Intelligence Issues and Aspects.
175206.	For more information, see CRS Insight IN11869, Russia's War Against Ukraine: Overview of U.S. Assistance and Sanctions; CRS In Focus IF12062, Russia's War on Ukraine: Financial and Trade Sanctions; and CRS Insight IN11866, Russia's Invasion of Ukraine: NATO Response.
176207.	See CRS Insight IN11882, Humanitarian and Refugee Crisis in Ukraine.
177208.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary Mayorkas Designates Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months," press release, March 3, 2022.
178.	Ibid.
179209.	Ibid.
180210.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status," 8 Federal Register 23211-23218, April 19, 2022.
181211.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status," 88 Federal Register 56872-56880, August 21, 2023.
182212.	Ibid.
183213.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 5936-5944, January 17, 2025.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Ukraine who subsequently obtained LPR status.
184215.	For more information, see CRS In Focus IF10230, Venezuela: Political Crisis and U.S. Policy.
185216.	Ibid.
186217.	See, for example, letter from 24 U.S. Senators to President Donald J. Trump, March 7, 2019, https://www.durbin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/March7%20Venezuela%20TPS%20Letter%20FINAL%20SIGNED.pdf; and letter from 23 U.S. Representatives to Kevin McAleenan, acting Secretary of DHS, May 10, 2019, https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/foia/TPS_-_Venezuela_-_Representative_Mucarsel-Powell.pdf.
187218.	H.R. 549, 116th Congress.
188219.	Letter from Ken Cucinelli II, acting director, USCIS, to Leith Anderson, president, National Association of Evangelicals, October 24, 2019, https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/foia/TPS_-_Venezuela_-_Anderson.pdf. For information on the TPS-related injunctions during the first Trump Administration, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10215, Federal District Court Enjoins the Department of Homeland Security from Terminating Temporary Protected Status.
189220.	The White House (President Trump), Office of the Press Secretary, "Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Venezuelans," presidential memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, January 19, 2021.
190221.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status and Implementation of Employment Authorization for Venezuelans Covered by Deferred Enforced Departure," 86 Federal Register 13574-13581, March 9, 2021.
222.	8 C.F.R. §244.10
223.	INA §244(b)(3)(A).
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status and Implementation of Employment Authorization for Venezuelans Covered by Deferred Enforced Departure," 86 Federal Register 13574-13581, March 9, 2021.
191225.	Ibid.
192226.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "DHS Announces Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela," press release, July 11, 2022.
193227.	See letter from 22 Senators to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, July 8, 2022; Letter from Senators Rubio and Menendez to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, March 31, 2022; Letter from 30 Representatives to President Joseph R. Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, July 8, 2022; Letter from 14 Representatives to President Joseph R. Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, March 21, 2022; https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/foia/Temporary_Protective_Status_for_Venezuela-Representative_Soto.pdf; Letter from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, July 9, 2022; and Letter from Catholic leaders to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, July 19, 2022.
194228.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Extension of the Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status," 87 Federal Register 55024-55032, September 10, 2022.
195229.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary Mayorkas Announces Extension and Redesignation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status," press release, September 20, 2023.
196230.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status," 88 Federal Register 68130-68139, October 3, 2023.
197231.	Ibid.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Secretary Mayorkas Announces Extension and Redesignation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status," press release, September 20, 2023.
198233.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status," 88 Federal Register 68130-68139, October 3, 2023.
199234.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the 2023 Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 5961-5972, January 17, 2025.
235.	Ibid.
236.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Vacatur of 2025 Temporary Protected Status Decision for Venezuela," 90 Federal Register 8805-8807, February 3, 2025.
237.
238.	Ibid.
239.	Ibid. INA §244(b)(1)(C) provides that the Secretary of DHS may not designate a foreign country for TPS on the basis of "extraordinary and temporary conditions" if the Secretary finds that "permitting such aliens to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States."
240.	National TPS Alliance et al., v. Kristi Noem et al., No. 3:25-cv-01766 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 31, 2025).
241.	On May 30, 2025, the district court in case No. 3:25-cv-1766 ordered that—pending resolution of the litigation—TPS beneficiaries who received TPS-related employment authorization documents (EADs), Forms I-797, Notices of Action, and Forms I-94 issued with October 2, 2026 expiration dates on or before February 5, 2025 (the date of Secretary Noem's termination notice) are to maintain that status, and their documentation is to remain valid during the course of the litigation. See U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Venezuela," https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status/temporary-protected-status-designated-country-venezuela.
Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Venezuela who subsequently obtained LPR status.
200243.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Designation of the Republic of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status," 80 Federal Register 53319-53323, September 3, 2015.
201244.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "DHS Announces Temporary Protected Status Designation for Yemen," press release, September 3, 2015, https://www.uscis.gov/news/dhs-announces-temporary-protected-status-designation-yemen.
202245.	United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, "Yemen Humanitarian Update – Issue 9," September 2022.
203246.	United Nations Population Fund, "Yemen: One of the world's largest humanitarian crises," October 11, 2022.
204247.	See CRS Report R43960, Yemen: Civil War and Regional Intervention.
205248.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of the Republic of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status," 82 Federal Register 859-866, January 4, 2017.
206249.	Ibid.
207250.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Designation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status," 83 Federal Register 40307-40313, August 14, 2018; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension of the Designation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status," 85 Federal Register 12313-12319, March 2, 2020.
208251.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status," 89 Federal Register 56765, 56767, July 10, 2024.
209252.	U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status," 86 Federal Register 36295-36302, July 9, 2021; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status," 88 Federal Register 94-103, January 3, 2023; and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status," 89 Federal Register 56765-56773, July 10, 2024.
210253.	Data provided to CRS by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This number does not include TPS-approved nationals of Yemen who subsequently obtained LPR status.
211.	To adjust to LPR status, an individual generally must have been "inspected and admitted or paroled" into the United States (INA §245(a), 8 U.S.C. §1255(a)). In recent years, some federal courts have addressed whether aliens who unlawfully entered the United States but later received TPS are considered to be "inspected and admitted" into the United States. Circuit courts were split on this issue. On June 7, 2021, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that TPS does not constitute an admission. For more information, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10607, Supreme Court: Unlawful Entrants with Temporary Protected Status Cannot Adjust to Lawful Permanent Resident Status.
212.	See archived CRS Report R43097, Comprehensive Immigration Reform in the 113th Congress: Major Provisions in Senate-Passed S. 744.
213.	For more information, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10607, Supreme Court: Unlawful Entrants with Temporary Protected Status Cannot Adjust to Lawful Permanent Resident Status.
214.	The bills described in this section are those that were identified by CRS by searching congress.gov using the following terms: "temporary protected status," "8 U.S.C. 1254a," and "deferred enforced departure." Bills that mention TPS or DED only in "Findings" sections are not discussed.
215.	See, for example, H.R. 2913, H.R. 7034, H.R. 7371, and S. 3618.
216.	See, for example, H.R. 4117, H.R. 1701, and S. 1963.
217.	H.R. 1381 and S. 672.
218.	S. 2401.
219254.	U.S. Congress, House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law, Temporary Safe Haven Act of 1987, hearing, 100th Cong., 1st sess., October 28, 1987.
255.	Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness is Section 7611 of P.L. 116-92.
256.	See, for example, Nicole Svajlenka et al., "TPS Holders are Integral Members of the U.S. Economy and Society," Center for American Progress, October 20, 2017; American Immigration Council, "Temporary Protected Status in the United States: Beneficiaries from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti," October 2017; and Manuel Orozco, "Towards and Adjustment of State for Salvadorans with TPS," Inter-American Dialogue, February 2018.
257.	See, for example, Andrew R. Arthur, 'Temporary' Protected Status: The Biggest Misnomer in Immigration, Center for Immigration Studies, October 31, 2017.
258.	For example, in a press release announcing the termination of Nicaragua's TPS designation, a DHS spokesperson stated, "Temporary Protected Status was never meant to last a quarter of a century. The impacts of a natural disaster impacting Nicaragua in 1999 no longer exist. The environmental situation has improved enough that it is safe enough for Nicaraguan citizens to return home. This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that TPS remains temporary." U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "DHS Terminates TPS for Nicaragua: It Was Never Meant to Last 25 Years," press release, July 7, 2025.
259.	South Sudan's designation was an "automatic extension" for six months, based on the Secretary of DHS not making a determination on whether it met the conditions for extension. See the "Sudan and South Sudan" section for more information.
260.	For more information, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10607, Supreme Court: Unlawful Entrants with Temporary Protected Status Cannot Adjust to Lawful Permanent Resident Status.
261.	See, for example, H.R. 1589, H.R. 3227, and S. 2106 in the 119th Congress.
262.	See, for example, H.R. 1689 and H.R. 3310 in the 119th Congress.
263.	See, for example, S. 1832 in the 119th Congress.
H.R. 1828 and S. 3128.
220.	See, for example, H.R. 16696, H.R. 30434201, and S. 225 in the 119th Congress.
265.	See, for example, H.R. 3724 in the 119th Congress.
266.	See, for example, H.R. 175 and H.R. 1050 in the 119th Congress.
267.	See, for example, H.R. 3724 in the 119th Congress.
268.	See, for example, H.R. 696, H.R. 4201, and S. 225 in the 119th Congress.
269.	S. 207 in the 118th Congress.
221.	H.R. 8752 and H.R. 9526.
222.	H.R. 367 and H.R. 9657.
223.	H.R. 6164, H.R. 6211, and H.R. 9526.
224.	H.R. 10061.
225.	S. 207.