President Joe Biden extended the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants to the United States by 18 months on Friday, throwing a wrench in President-elect Donald Trump’s plan for mass deportations in his second term.
Biden’s administration extended the legal period that immigrants from Ukraine, Sudan and Venezuela under the Temporary Protected Status program can stay in the country by a full 18 months. While their authorization was set to expire in the spring, the incoming Trump admin will now find it difficult to remove the over 800,000 people covered by the program.
TPS allows immigrants from countries believed to be unstable to stay in the country and obtain work permits. It does not provide a path to citizenship. President-elect Trump has been a vocal critic of the program and unsuccessfully attempted to remove the protected status from nearly 400,000 Venezuelans in the country during his first term.
“These designations are rooted in careful review and interagency collaboration to ensure those affected by environmental disasters and instability are given the protections they need while continuing to contribute meaningfully to our communities,” Department of Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas shared in a statement.
Trump and Vice President-elect Vance have both railed against TPS on the campaign, notably spreading conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants in Ohio who were in the United States legally under the program. Their focus on the town of Springfield led to weeks of bomb threats and a pervasive fear among the area’s Haitian immigrant community.
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