On January 8, the Trump Administration announced the end of temporary protected status (TPS) for Salvadorans who have lived in the United States since at least 2001. That status will end on September 9, 2019, so those in the U.S. with TPS have until then to find other avenues to legal status in the U.S. or face deportation. Two important deadlines loom for those in the States under TPS: February 13 and March 19.
Immigrants from Honduras and Nicaragua who currently have TPS need to re-register by February 13, which means that applications need to be completed and sent off by overnight delivery by February 12 at the latest. Those from Haiti and El Salvador have a little more time; they need their re-registration forms in the possession of USCIS by March 19, which means they need to be completed by March 18 at the latest. These re-registrations extend protection another 18 months.
In other TPS news, protected status was extended for Syrians on January 31. Now, they’ll have TPS through September 30, 2019.
The current immigration debate has got the hopes up of many in the U.S. under TPS that they too might be accommodated in some way, but the Trump Administration has shown no signs that it will add them to the negotiations. According to Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan, “We are looking at the fact that temporary protected status means temporary, and it has not been temporary for many years. We, the U.S. government, have created a situation where people have lived in this country a long time."
Those living in the U.S. with TPS need to re-register to retain that protection, and they need to consult an experienced immigration attorney to see if other avenues toward more permanent status are available. Even those who do not yet have a deadline before they face deportation should see what can be done. The government has not yet announced a termination date for Hondurans with TPS, but one is expected to be announced in six months. Since New Orleans has one of the United States’ largest Honduran communities, that change could have a big impact.
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