Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued two bulletins on Monday terminating the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of Honduran and Venezuelan nationals in the United States, citing the improved conditions in both countries, facilitating a return of their citizens.
One bulletin read:
After finding improved country conditions in Honduras, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem today announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status, as required by the statute. The termination will be effective 60 days after the publication of the Federal Register notice.
Honduras was designated for TPS in 1999 after the impact of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The Government of Honduras has made tremendous strides over the years to recover from the hurricane and, as a result of those efforts, it is safe for their nationals to return home.
“Temporary Protected Status was designed to be just that—temporary,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “It is clear that the Government of Honduras has taken all of the necessary steps to overcome the impacts of Hurricane Mitch, almost 27 years ago. Honduran citizens can safely return home, and DHS is here to help facilitate their voluntary return. Honduras has been a wonderful partner of the Trump Administration, helping us deliver on key promises to the American people. We look forward to continuing our work with them."
After conferring with interagency partners, Secretary Noem determined that conditions in Honduras no longer meet the TPS statutory requirements. The Secretary's decision was based on a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services review of the conditions in Honduras and in consultation with the Department of State. The Secretary determined that, overall, country conditions have improved to the point where Hondurans can return home in safety. Additionally, under President Castro, Honduras has taken steps to welcome home their citizens, providing access to economic and food assistance programs, as well as labor integration and job training.
The same language was used for the bulletin announcing the revocation of status for Nicaraguan nationals, citing that the 1999 natural disaster that allowed them to come under the TPS banner was 25 years ago, and that conditions have improved enough in Nicaragua for their people to return home.
The environmental situation has improved enough that it is safe enough for Nicaraguan citizens to return home. This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that TPS remains temporary."
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This latest Trump administration decision has given the legacy media and Democrats much distress. President George H.W. Bush and Congress incorporated TPS into immigration law in 1990, and since then, both Democrat and Republican administrations have spent decades ignoring oversight and enforcement of said policies, while using executive orders to create additional messes for Congress to clean up (think, DACA under Obama). This is why a so-called "temporary status" created de facto permanent residents. TPS recipients are not issued green cards, and TPS recipients cannot apply for permanent U.S. residency under the auspices of the program. If one reads the fine print, the Trump administration has presented other avenues for TPS recipients to attain green card residency and possible citizenship — avenues that the Honduran and Nicaraguan nationals and their families could have taken advantage of decades ago. So, why didn't they?
But these facts are disregarded because painting Trump and his cabinet as anti-immigration, xenophobic, and cruel makes for a better narrative.
The administration has now moved to dismantle TPS programs for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Venezuela, dramatically expanding the pool of those eligible to be arrested and deported by federal immigration authorities.
While the administration's efforts have faced legal challenges, the Supreme Court this spring let officials revoke the TPS protections of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants.
The TPS policies for Honduras and Nicaragua were first created in 1999, after Hurricane Mitch devastated parts of Central America, causing catastrophic floods and killing thousands.
In the official termination notices, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said TPS for both Honduras and Nicaragua was no longer warranted, arguing that conditions in the two countries had improved significantly and that they could receive their nationals.
"Temporary Protected Status, as the name itself makes clear, is an inherently temporary status," both termination notices said.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) evoked the imagery of ripping families apart.
TPS recipients from Nicaragua and Honduras fled devastation more than 20 years ago, and they have since built their lives in the U.S. — raising children, contributing to our economy, and enriching our communities.
Ending these protections is cruel and reckless. It shows the unconscionable lengths Donald Trump will go to push his extreme anti-immigrant agenda and rip families apart.
One reporter asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about these termination notices. Leavitt made the fine point that TPS "temporary protected status is temporary by definition.
WATCH:
Leavitt also emphasized the previous administration's abuse of the TPS program.
Since 2021, the Department of Homeland Security – which oversees the program – has added Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Ukraine and Venezuela to the list of countries whose immigrants may qualify for TPS. It also extended the terms of eligibility for immigrants from most countries that were already covered by TPS.
The Biden administration’s expansions stand in contrast to the Trump administration’s efforts to end TPS for nearly all beneficiaries. On his first day as president, Biden asked Congress to pass legislation that would allow TPS recipients who meet certain conditions to apply immediately for green cards that would let them become lawful permanent residents. Green card holders may be granted U.S. citizenship if they pass additional background checks and meet the usual naturalization conditions of knowledge of English and U.S. civics.
TPS recipients are not currently eligible for permanent residency or U.S. citizenship unless they pursue those statuses through other immigration processes.
Past administrations have used immigration as a political football, but the Biden administration took extreme measures to overwhelm the national fabric. Which is why it requires these extreme measures by the Trump administration to mitigate the damage.
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