Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure
Updated July 31, 2024
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RS20844
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RS20844
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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 Security 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 currently 16 countries under TPS designations. As of March 31, 2024, approximately 863,880 foreign nationals from the following countries who were in the United States were protected by TPS: Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen. In addition, certain Palestinians, Liberians, and residents of Hong Kong living in the United States currently maintain relief under DED.
There is ongoing 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 117th Congress; the Senate did not take action on either. Various bills related to TPS and DED have been introduced in the 118th Congress. These bills include proposals to designate additional countries, provide additional benefits to TPS or DED recipients, or provide for LPR status, while others would restrict individual eligibility for TPS and limit DHS authority to extend TPS designations.
July 31, 2024
Jill H. Wilson Analyst in Immigration Policy
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Background ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Humanitarian Response ................................................................................................................... 1
Temporary Protected Status ............................................................................................................. 2
Deferred Enforced Departure .......................................................................................................... 4 Historical Use of Blanket Relief ...................................................................................................... 4
Current TPS and DED Designations ............................................................................................... 6
Afghanistan ............................................................................................................................... 8 Burma ........................................................................................................................................ 9
Cameroon ................................................................................................................................ 10 Central American Countries ..................................................................................................... 11
Ethiopia ................................................................................................................................... 13 Haiti ......................................................................................................................................... 14
Hong Kong .............................................................................................................................. 15 Liberia ..................................................................................................................................... 16 Nepal ....................................................................................................................................... 18 Palestinians .............................................................................................................................. 18
Somalia .................................................................................................................................... 19
Sudan and South Sudan ........................................................................................................... 19
Syria ........................................................................................................................................ 21 Ukraine .................................................................................................................................... 22
Venezuela ................................................................................................................................ 22 Yemen...................................................................................................................................... 24
State of Residence of TPS Recipients ........................................................................................... 25 Adjustment of Status ..................................................................................................................... 26 Legislative Activity in the 118th Congress ..................................................................................... 27
Figure 1. Individuals with Temporary Protected Status by State of Residence ............................. 26
Table 1. Countries Currently Designated for TPS ........................................................................... 6 Table 2. Current DED Grants .......................................................................................................... 7 Table 3. Individuals with Temporary Protected Status by State of Residence .............................. 28
Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 29
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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.5 Temporary Protected Status (TPS), codified in INA Section 244,6 provides temporary relief from removal and work authorization to certain foreign nationals—regardless of their immigration status—in the United States 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 relief7 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 covered by TPS or DED, including the conditions that have contributed to their designation. Past legislation to provide lawful permanent resident (LPR) status to certain TPS-designated foreign nationals is also described. The report concludes with a brief description of recent legislative activity related to TPS.
As a State Party to the 1967 United Nations Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (U.N. Protocol),8 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
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 synonymous 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 the 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.
6 8 U.S.C. §1254a.
7 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.
8 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 Commission 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.
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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 requiring 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.9
The definition of a refugee in the INA, which is consistent with the U.N. 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 status: those abroad apply for refugee status while those in the United States or at a U.S. port of entry apply for asylum.11 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.
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),14 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.
9 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 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.
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 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.
13 Foreign nationals outside the United States are not eligible to apply for TPS.
14 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.
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A foreign state may not be designated for TPS if the Secretary of DHS finds that allowing its nationals to temporarily stay in the United States is against the U.S. national interest.15
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 Each designation specifies the date by which individuals must have continuously resided in the United States in order to qualify.17 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 referred 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 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.21 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.22 They may be deemed ineligible for public assistance by a state, and they may travel abroad with the prior consent of the DHS Secretary.23 TPS does not provide a path to lawful permanent residence or citizenship, but a TPS recipient is not barred from acquiring nonimmigrant or immigrant status if he or she meets the requirements.24 DHS has indicated that information it collects when an individual registers for TPS may be used to enforce immigration law or in any criminal
15 INA §244(b)(1) (8 U.S.C. §1254a(b)(1)).
16 There is no limit on the number of extensions a country can receive.
17 This date is typically the same or very near to the date of the designation announcement.
18 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.
21 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. Section 244(c)(2) in the TPS statute lists which of these grounds of inadmissibility may be waived and which may not be waived.
22 INA §244(a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (d)(4) (8 USC §1254a (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (d)(4)).
23 INA §244(f) (8 U.S.C. §1254a(f)).
24 For purposes of adjustment to lawful permanent resident 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)).
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proceeding.25 In addition, withdrawal of an individual’s TPS may subject the individual to exclusion or deportation proceedings.26
In addition to TPS, there is another form of blanket relief from removal known as deferred enforced departure (DED).27 DED is a temporary, discretionary, administrative stay of removal 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 eight groups (see “Historical Use of Blanket Relief”). Certain Palestinians, 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 executive order or presidential memorandum, they generally provide eligibility guidelines and direct 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 register for the status with USCIS unless they are applying for work authorization.30 Instead, DED is triggered when a protected individual is identified for removal.
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,
25 8 C.F.R. §244.16.
26 8 C.F.R. §244.14.
27 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.
30 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.
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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 December 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 1994.32 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 grant 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.33 President George W. Bush directed that DED be provided 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, 2021 (for more details, see the “Liberia” section).35 On President Trump’s last full day in office, 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
31 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).
33 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.
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“Venezuela” below). On February 14, 2024, President Biden announced an 18-month DED grant for Palestinians in the United States.39
Sixteen countries are currently designated for TPS. As of March 31, 2024, approximately 863,880 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.
Table 1 lists the TPS-designated countries as of the 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 March 31, 2024.40
In addition to the countries designated for TPS, certain nationals of Liberia are covered by DED, as are certain Palestinians and certain Hong Kong residents currently present in the United States (see the “Hong Kong,” “Liberia,” and “Palestinians” sections). 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.
Table 1. Countries Currently Designated for TPS
Country
Most Recent
Decision
Required Arrival
Datea
Expiration
Dateb
Approved
Individualsc
Afghanistan Extension and redesignation
September 20, 2023 May 20, 2025 8,245
Burma Extension and redesignation
March 21, 2024 November 25, 2025 2,320
Cameroon Extension and redesignation
October 5, 2023 June 7, 2025 3,265
El Salvador Recission of termination and extensiond
February 13, 2001 March 9, 2025 180,375
Ethiopia New designation April 11, 2024 December 12, 2025 2,330
Haiti Extension and redesignation
June 3, 2024 February 3, 2026 200,005
Honduras Recission of termination and extensiond
December 30, 1998 July 5, 2025 54,290
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 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.
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Country
Most Recent
Decision
Required Arrival
Datea
Expiration
Dateb
Approved
Individualsc
Nepal Recission of termination and extensione
June 24, 2015 June 24, 2025 7,875
Nicaragua Recission of termination and extensiond
December 30, 1998 July 5, 2025 2,925
Somalia Extension and redesignation
July 12, 2024 March 17, 2026 555
South Sudan Extension and redesignation
September 4, 2023 May 3, 2025 155
Sudan Extension and redesignation
August 16, 2023 April 19, 2025 1,190
Syria Extension and redesignation
January 25, 2024 September 30, 2025 3,865
Ukraine Extension and redesignation
August 16, 2023 April 19, 2025 50,205
Venezuela Extension and redesignation
July 31, 2023 September 10, 2025 344,335
Yemen Extension and redesignation
July 2, 2024 March 3, 2026 1,840
Total 863,880f
Sources: CRS compilation of information from Federal Register announcements or press releases; numbers provided to CRS by USCIS. a. The arrival date represents the date from which individuals are required to have continuously resided in the United States in order to qualify for TPS and is indicated in the most recent TPS designation for that country. If a country is redesignated for TPS, the required arrival date may change. A foreign national is not considered to have failed this requirement for a “brief, casual, and innocent” absence. 8 U.S.C. §1254a(c) and 8 C.F.R. §244.1.
b. The expiration date represents the end of the most recent designation period and is subject to change based on future decisions of the DHS Secretary.
c. These data reflect the number of individuals (rounded to the nearest five by USCIS) with an approved TPS application as of March 31, 2024, who had not obtained LPR status or U.S. citizenship. The data may include individuals who have 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. Numbers are rounded to the nearest five by USCIS and may not sum to total due to rounding.
d. See the “Central American Countries” section below.
e. See the “Nepal” section below.
f. Total includes 110 individuals whose country of designation is listed as “Unknown.”
Table 2. Current DED Grants
DED Grant Required Arrival Datea Expiration Dateb
Hong Kong January 26, 2023 January 25, 2025
Liberia May 20, 2017 June 30, 2026
Palestinians February 14, 2024 August 13, 2025
Source: CRS compilation of information from Federal Register announcements and White House press releases.
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a. The arrival date represents the date from which individuals are required to have continuously resided in the United States in order to be eligible for DED.
b. The expiration date represents the end of the most recent DED grant and is subject to change based on future decisions of the President.
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.41 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.42 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,43 though some were reportedly granted parole for one year.44
On March 15, 2022, DHS Secretary Mayorkas announced the designation of Afghanistan for TPS for a period of 18 months.45 The designation is 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.”46 The DHS press release also references the “extraordinary and temporary” conditions that prevent 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.”47 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, 2023.48
In September 2023, DHS extended Afghanistan’s TPS designation for another 18 months, through May 20, 2025, based on the conditions described above.49 DHS also redesignated Afghanistan for TPS, allowing additional Afghan nationals who have 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.50 As of March 31, 2024, 8,245 nationals of Afghanistan were covered by TPS.51
41 For more information, see CRS Report R46879, U.S. Military Withdrawal and Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan: Frequently Asked Questions.
42 For more information, see CRS Report R46570, Immigration Parole.
43 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.
44 Rebecca Beitsch, “DHS gives temporary protected status to Afghans in US,” The Hill, March 16, 2022.
45 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Secretary Mayorkas Designates Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status,” press release, March 16, 2022.
46 Ibid.
47 Ibid.
48 Email to CRS from U.S. Department of Homeland Security, March 17, 2022.
49 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.
50 Ibid.
51 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.
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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.52 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.”53 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.”54
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.55 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.56 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 takes effect on May 26, 2024, and is to remain in effect through November 25, 2025. DHS estimates that approximately 9,590 additional individuals may be eligible for TPS under the two redesignations of Burma.57 As of March 31, 2024, 2,320 nationals of Burma were covered by TPS.58
52 See CRS Insight IN11594, Coup in Burma (Myanmar): Issues for U.S. Policy.
53 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.
54 Ibid.
55 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.
56 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.
57 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.
58 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.
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Cameroon faces security crises on several fronts.59 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.60 Some 4.7 million Cameroonians (more than one in seven) are in need of humanitarian assistance, per U.N. estimates.61
In 2020, multiple Members of Congress urged the Trump Administration to halt the planned removal of Cameroonian asylum-seekers, citing unsafe conditions in Cameroon.62 Starting in 2021, multiple Members of Congress asked the Biden Administration to grant TPS or DED for Cameroon.63 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.64
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.”65 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.66
59 See CRS Report R46919, Cameroon: Key Issues and U.S. Policy.
60 U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Operational Data Portal: Cameroon, data as of September 30, 2023, at https://data.unhcr.org/en/country/cmr.
61 U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), “Humanitarian Needs Overview: Cameroon,” March 2023.
62 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.
63 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.
64 Human Rights Watch, “‘How Can You Throw Us Back?’: Asylum Seekers Abused in the US and Deported to Harm in Cameroon,” February 10, 2022.
65 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Secretary Mayorkas Designates Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months,” press release, April 15, 2022.
66 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.
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In October 2023, DHS extended Cameroon’s designation for 18 months, through June 7, 2025, based on ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions.67 This allows those who received TPS under the 2022 designation to remain in the United States through June 7, 2025. DHS also redesignated Cameroon for TPS, allowing additional Cameroonian nationals who have been residing in the United States since October 5, 2023, to apply. DHS estimated that approximately 7,900 individuals may be newly eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Cameroon.68 As of March 31, 2024, 3,265 nationals of Cameroon were covered by TPS.69
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.70 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.71 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.72
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.”73 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.74 On May 4, 2018, DHS announced its decision to terminate the TPS designation for Honduras, with an 18-
67 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.
68 Ibid.
69 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.
70 For historical analysis, see archived CRS Report IB87205, Immigration Status of Salvadorans and Nicaraguans (available to congressional clients upon request).
71 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 Under Temporary Protected Status,” 64 Federal Register 526-528, January 5, 1999.
72 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.
73 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.
74 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.
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month delay (until January 5, 2020) to allow for an orderly transition.75 The terminations for Nicaragua and Honduras were put on hold due to a legal challenge.76 On June 13, 2023, DHS announced that it was rescinding the Trump Administration’s terminations and extending their designations for 18 months.77 The extensions for Nicaragua and Honduras are to last until July 5, 2025. As of March 31, 2024, 2,925 nationals of Nicaragua and 54,290 nationals of Honduras were covered by TPS.78
On January 8, 2018, DHS announced its decision to terminate TPS for El Salvador—whose 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, 2019,79 but the termination was put on hold due to a legal challenge.80 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.”81 Subsequently, 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.82 On June 13, 2023, DHS 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).83 As of March 31, 2024, 180,375 nationals of El Salvador were covered by TPS.84
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
75 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.
76 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.
77 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.
78 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.
79 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.
80 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.
81 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.
82 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.
83 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.
84 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.
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America.85 Opponents have argued that ending the TPS designations for these countries is consistent with congressional intent—to provide temporary safe haven.
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.86 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.87 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.”88 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.
Ethiopia’s 18-month designation covers individuals who were residing in the United States as of December 12, 2022, and is to last until June 12, 2024.89 Secretary Mayorkas has announced that he is extending 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.90 Secretary Mayorkas is also redesignating Ethiopia for TPS, which will allow additional Ethiopian nationals who have 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,91 and DHS estimates that approximately 12,800 individuals may
85 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.
86 See CRS Report R46905, Ethiopia’s Transition and the Tigray Conflict.
87 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.
88 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “DHS Designates Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months,” press release, October 21, 2022.
89 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.
90 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.
91 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.
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become newly eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Ethiopia. As of March 31, 2024, 2,330 nationals of Ethiopia were covered by TPS.92
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.93 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, 2010.94 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.”95
DHS extended the TPS designation for Haiti in May 2011, providing another 18 months of TPS, through January 22, 2013.96 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,97 but were not covered by the initial TPS designation.98 Subsequently, then-Secretary Jeh Johnson extended Haiti’s designation several more times, through July 22, 2017.99
A 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 2016.100 On May 24, 2017, 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
92 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.
93 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.
94 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.
95 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Statement from Secretary Janet Napolitano,” press release, January 15, 2010.
96 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Secretary Napolitano Announces Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian Beneficiaries,” press release, May 17, 2011.
97 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.
98 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.
99 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.
100 For conditions following Hurricane Matthew, see CRS In Focus IF10502, Haiti: Cholera, the United Nations, and Hurricane Matthew.
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to return to Haiti should its designation be terminated after six months.101 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.102 On November 20, 2017, DHS announced its decision to terminate TPS for Haiti, with an 18-month transition period. Its designation was set to terminate on July 22, 2019,103 but the termination was put on hold due to legal challenges.104
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.”105 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.106 DHS estimated that 155,000 Haitians would be eligible under this designation,107 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 2022108 and July 2024109) 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. As of March 31, 2024, there were 200,005 nationals of Haiti with TPS.110
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
101 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.
102 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.
103 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.
104 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.
105 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.
106 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.
107 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.
108 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.
109 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.
110 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.
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autonomy.”111 In February 2021, after Hong Kong authorities charged pro-democracy politicians and activists with subversion under the new law, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for their immediate release, stating, “Political participation and freedom of expression should not be crimes.”112 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.113 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 3,860.114 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, 2023.115
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 1999.116 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.117 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.118
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.119 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
111 See CRS In Focus IF10119, China Primer: U.S.-China Relations.
112 Ibid.
113 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.
114 Email to CRS from USCIS, January 7, 2022.
115 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.
116 See archived CRS Report RL32243, Liberia: Transition to Peace.
117 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.
118 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.
119 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.
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other immigration benefits for which they are eligible.”120 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 2002.121 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.122 A lawsuit challenging the termination was filed in federal court on March 8, 2019.123 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, 2020.124
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 116th 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, 2021.125
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.126 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, 2017.127 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-
120 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.
121 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.
122 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.
123 Complaint, African Cmtys. Together v. Trump, No. 1:19-cv-10432 (D. Mass. Mar. 8, 2019).
124 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.
125 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).
126 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.
127 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.
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adjustment process, honors the historic close relationship between the United States and Liberia and is in the foreign policy interests of the United States.”128 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 2022.129
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.130 On June 24, 2015, citing a substantial but temporary disruption in living conditions as a result of the earthquake, then-DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson designated Nepal for TPS for an 18-month period.131 TPS for Nepal was extended for 18 months in October 2016.132 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.133 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, 2019.134 The termination was put on hold due to a legal challenge.135 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, 2025.136 As of March 31, 2024, 7,875 nationals of Nepal were covered by TPS.137
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 253 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 April 30, 2024, according to the Hamas-
128 Ibid.
129 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.
130 See CRS Report R44303, Nepal: Political Developments and U.S. Relations. For information on more recent country conditions, see CRS In Focus IF10216, Nepal.
131 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.
132 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Extensions of the Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status,” 81 Federal Register 74470-74475, October 26, 2016.
133 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.
134 Ibid.
135 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.
136 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.
137 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.
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controlled Gaza health ministry, more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza had been killed. The conflict’s impact in Gaza, with an estimated 1.7 million Gazans displaced (out of a population of approximately 2.1 million people) has generated a humanitarian crisis.138
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.139 Under this designation, eligible individuals can apply to DHS for work authorization and are not 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 are eligible. Individuals who have returned voluntarily to the “Palestinian territories” (the West Bank and Gaza) after February 14, 2024, or who have not continuously resided in the United States since February 14, 2024, are ineligible. Palestinians who pose certain security or foreign policy risks are also ineligible.140
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.141 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.”142 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.143 DHS estimated that approximately 4,300 individuals may become newly eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Somalia.144 As of March 31, 2024, 555 nationals of Somalia were covered by TPS.145
Decades of civil war preceded South Sudan’s secession from the Republic of Sudan in 2011.146 Citing both ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions that would
138 This paragraph is adapted from CRS Report R47828, Israel and Hamas Conflict In Brief: Overview, U.S. Policy, and Options for Congress.
139 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.
140 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.
141 For more information, see CRS In Focus IF10155, Somalia.
142 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.
143 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.
144 Ibid.
145 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.
146 See CRS In Focus IF10182, Sudan.
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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 15 times.
On July 9, 2011, South Sudan became a new nation.147 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, 2011.148 Civil war broke out there in 2013, and TPS has been extended or redesignated nine times since 2011 due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in South Sudan. The most recent extension announcement cited “violence and human rights abuses affecting civilians, as well as environmental, health, and food security concerns.”149 The latest extension was for 18 months and expires on May 3, 2025.150 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. As of March 31, 2024, 155 nationals of South Sudan were covered by TPS.151
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, 2018.152 The termination was put on hold due to a legal challenge.153
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.”154 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.155 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.156 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
147 See CRS In Focus IF10218, South Sudan.
148 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.
149 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Secretary Mayorkas Extends and Redesignates Temporary Protected Status for South Sudan,” press release, September 5, 2023.
150 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.
151 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.
152 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.
153 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.
154 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.
155 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.
156 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.
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2,750 Sudanese may be eligible for TPS under this redesignation.157 As of March 31, 2024, 1,190 nationals of Sudan were covered by TPS.158
The political uprising of 2011 in Syria grew into a protracted civil war; as of late 2022, 5.6 million Syrians were registered as refugees in neighboring countries and 6.9 million remained internally displaced.159 On March 29, 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.160 In that initial granting of TPS, Secretary Napolitano made clear that DHS would conduct full background checks on Syrians registering for TPS.161
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, was accompanied by a redesignation, which updated the required arrival date into the United States for Syrians from January 5, 2015, to August 1, 2016.162 The Trump Administration extended Syria’s designation twice without redesignating; thus, Syrians who entered the United States after August 1, 2016, remained ineligible.163 The Biden Administration has extended (for 18 months each) and redesignated Syria for TPS three times.164 The latest redesignation allows Syrian nationals who have been residing in the United States since January 25, 2024, to apply for TPS. DHS estimated that approximately 2,500 individuals may be newly eligible for TPS under the latest redesignation.165 As of March 31, 2024, 3,865 nationals of Syria were covered by TPS.166
157 Ibid.
158 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.
159 See CRS Report R43119, Syria: Overview of the Humanitarian Response; and CRS Report RL33487, Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response.
160 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.
161 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.
162 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.
163 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.
164 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.
165 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.
166 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.
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On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.167 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.168 The invasion triggered massive refugee flows to neighboring countries and led to millions of people being internally displaced.169
On March 3, 2022, DHS Secretary Mayorkas announced the designation of Ukraine for TPS for 18 months.170 DHS cited the armed conflict and extraordinary conditions that prevent 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.”171 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.172 However, in the Federal Register Notice published on April 19, 2022, DHS established an arrival cutoff date of April 11.173 Thus, Ukrainians who traveled to the United States between March 1 and April 11, 2022, were also eligible to apply for TPS. DHS estimated that 59,600 Ukrainians would be eligible to apply.
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.174 DHS also redesignated Ukraine for TPS, allowing additional Ukrainian nationals who have been residing in the United States since August 16, 2023, to apply for TPS. DHS estimates that an additional 166,700 Ukrainian nationals may be eligible for TPS under this redesignation.175 As of March 31, 2024, 50,205 nationals of Ukraine were covered by TPS.176
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.177 Maduro also claimed victory in the July 2024 presidential election, but international observers concluded that it did not meet international
167 For more information, see CRS Insight IN11872, Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: Military and Intelligence Issues and Aspects.
168 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.
169 See CRS Insight IN11882, Humanitarian and Refugee Crisis in Ukraine.
170 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Secretary Mayorkas Designates Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months,” press release, March 3, 2022.
171 Ibid.
172 Ibid.
173 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.
174 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.
175 Ibid.
176 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.
177 For more information, see CRS In Focus IF10230, Venezuela: Political Crisis and U.S. Policy.
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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.178
During 2019, some Members of Congress and nonprofit organizations requested that the Trump Administration designate Venezuela for TPS,179 and the House passed a bill (H.R. 549) that would have designated Venezuela for TPS for 18 months.180 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.181 The Trump Administration never designated Venezuela for TPS. However, on his last full day in office, President Trump granted DED for 18 months for Venezuelans present in the United States as of January 20, 2021, asserting that the Maduro regime is responsible for “the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere in recent memory.”182 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. Unlike DED, designating Venezuela for TPS allows those who qualify to obtain an immigration status and documentation thereof; it also requires that the Administration reconsider country conditions on a periodic basis and extend or terminate the status accordingly. 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.183
USCIS estimated that approximately 323,000 individuals were eligible to file applications for TPS under this designation of Venezuela.184
178 Ibid.
179 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.
180 H.R. 549, 116th Congress.
181 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, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10215, Federal District Court Enjoins the Department of Homeland Security from Terminating Temporary Protected Status.
182 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.
183 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.
184 Ibid.
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On July 11, 2022, DHS announced an 18-month extension of Venezuela’s TPS.185 Despite calls to allow Venezuelans who arrived after March 8, 2021, to apply for TPS,186 the extension was not accompanied by a redesignation to move the arrival date forward.187 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.”188 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.”189 DHS estimated that the redesignation would make approximately 472,000 nationals of Venezuela in the United States newly eligible for TPS.190 As of March 31, 2024, 344,335 nationals of Venezuela were covered by TPS.191
On September 3, 2015, then-DHS Secretary Johnson designated Yemen for TPS for 18 months due to ongoing armed conflict in the country.192 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.”193 Since 2015, the war in Yemen has internally displaced more than 4.3 million people.194 According to the United Nations, Yemen is experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with nearly three-quarters of the population in need of humanitarian
185 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “DHS Announces Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela,” press release, July 11, 2022.
186 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.
187 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Extension of the Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status,” 87 Federal Register 55024-55032, September 10, 2022.
188 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Secretary Mayorkas Announces Extension and Redesignation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status,” press release, September 20, 2023.
189 Ibid.
190 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.
191 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.
192 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.
193 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.
194 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Yemen Humanitarian Update – Issue 9,” September 2022.
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assistance.195 Relief efforts in the region have been complicated by ongoing violence and considerable damage to the country’s infrastructure.196
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, 2017.197 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.198 The Trump Administration twice extended Yemen’s TPS designation for durations of 18 months each, but kept the arrival cutoff date the same.199 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.”200 Each extension was for 18 months.201 As of March 31, 2024, 1,840 nationals of Yemen were covered by TPS.202
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, 12 other states had at least 10,000 TPS recipients as of March 2024: New Jersey, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Utah. See Figure 1 and Table 3. More than one-third (34%) of those covered by TPS reside in Florida; most of these individuals are Venezuelan (57%) or Haitian (35%).
195 United Nations Population Fund, “Yemen: One of the world’s largest humanitarian crises,” October 11, 2022.
196 See CRS Report R43960, Yemen: Civil War and Regional Intervention.
197 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.
198 Ibid.
199 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.
200 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.
201 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.
202 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.
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Figure 1. Individuals with T emporary Protected Status by State of Residence
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 March 31, 2024, 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.
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.203 There are statutory limitations on Congress providing adjustment of status to TPS recipients. 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 for any TPS recipient requires a supermajority in the Senate (i.e., three- fifths of all Senators) voting affirmatively.
Over the years, Congress has provided for the adjustment to LPR status for groups of nationals who had been given TPS or DED. In 1992, Congress enacted legislation allowing Chinese
203 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.
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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 116th Congress incorporated Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness provisions into the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act; it allowed Liberians who had been continuously present in the United States since November 2014 and their family members to apply for LPR status. 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 113th 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.204
Two bills that would have provided LPR status to certain TPS and DED recipients passed the House in the 117th 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.205 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 in the 117th Congress. Similar bills have been introduced in the 118th 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 action as of the cover date of this report.
Various bills related to TPS and DED have been introduced in the 118th Congress.206 These include bills that would designate certain countries for TPS,207 make TPS and DED beneficiaries eligible for federal financial aid for higher education,208 make TPS and DED beneficiaries eligible for congressional employment,209 make TPS beneficiaries eligible for enlistment in the Armed
204 See archived CRS Report R43097, Comprehensive Immigration Reform in the 113th Congress: Major Provisions in Senate-Passed S. 744.
205 For more information, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10607, Supreme Court: Unlawful Entrants with Temporary Protected Status Cannot Adjust to Lawful Permanent Resident Status.
206 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.
207 See, for example, H.R. 2913, H.R. 7034, H.R. 7371, and S. 3618.
208 See, for example, H.R. 4117, H.R. 1701, and S. 1963.
209 H.R. 1381 and S. 672.
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Forces,210 and provide for adjustment to LPR status for certain TPS and DED recipients.211 Other bills introduced in the 118th Congress seek to limit TPS, such as by making ineligible individuals who are members of criminal gangs212 or who hold travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority.213 One bill takes a multi-pronged approach that includes 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.214
Table 3. Individuals with T emporary Protected Status by State of Residence
State
Individuals
with TPS
State
Individuals
with TPS
Alabama 2,550 Nevada 4,510
Alaska 315 New Hampshire 520
Arizona 3,095 New Jersey 31,480
Arkansas 2,950 New Mexico 510
California 67,800 New York 67,840
Colorado 6,590 North Carolina 22,140
Connecticut 5,510 North Dakota 325
Delaware 3,185 Ohio 12,775
District of Columbia 2,860 Oklahoma 3,120
Florida 295,720 Oregon 2,705
Georgia 29,630 Pennsylvania 11,955
Hawaii 230 Rhode Island 1,340
Idaho 605 South Carolina 5,835
Illinois 19,730 South Dakota 355
Indiana 18,775 Tennessee 10,295
Iowa 2,005 Texas 93,680
Kansas 2,090 Utah 10,215
Kentucky 3,225 Vermont 80
Louisiana 2,860 Virginia 26,080
Maine 455 Washington 9,500
Maryland 28,700 West Virginia 320
Massachusetts 27,780 Wisconsin 2,400
210 S. 2401.
211 See, for example, H.R. 16, H.R. 3043, H.R. 3194, H.R. 3599, H.R. 4319, H.R. 7298, S. 365, S. 1392, S. 1727, and S. 4069.
212 H.R. 367.
213 H.R. 6164 and H.R. 6211.
214 S. 207.
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Michigan 4,000 Wyoming 130
Minnesota 4,720 U.S. Virgin Islands 2,560
Mississippi 675 Puerto Rico 610
Missouri 2,790 Other/Unknown 1,650
Montana 155
Nebraska 1,950 Total 863,880
Source: Data provided to CRS by USCIS. Notes: Numbers are rounded to the nearest five by USCIS and may not sum to total due to rounding. These data reflect individuals with TPS as of March 31, 2024, who had not obtained LPR status or U.S. citizenship. The data may include individuals who have 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. “Other” includes Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Palau, American Samoa, Guam, and the Armed Forces.
Jill H. Wilson Analyst in Immigration Policy
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.