by Jennie Taer
The Biden administration will extend the temporary legal status of roughly 337,000 immigrants from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Nepal and Honduras, CBS News reported Tuesday.
Immigrants from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Nepal and Honduras will be allowed to stay and work in the country for an additional 18 months under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), according to CBS News, which cited two current and former U.S. officials. TPS is granted due to either armed conflict, environmental disaster, an epidemic or other “extraordinary” conditions, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The expected announcement marks a stark shift from the Trump administration’s plan to deport the immigrants, according to CBS News. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has expanded TPS at an unprecedented rate to include 16 countries.
The expected decision is tied to a pending court case that sought to target the Trump administration’s plan to end most TPS designations, a source familiar told CBS News.
At the end of 2021, there were 241,699 Salvadorans, 76,737 Hondurans, 14,556 Nepalis and 4,250 Nicaraguans enrolled in the program, according to USCIS.
Some Biden officials have expressed concerns with expanding TPS, saying it could lead to an influx of illegal immigration at the southern border, according to CBS News. Although it wouldn’t apply to immigrants not already in the country, TPS could be a “pull factor” for some migrants, officials told CBS News.
DHS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Jennie Taer is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Joe Biden” by The White House. Background Photo “El Paso Border Patrol Agents Intercept a Large Group of Migrants” by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
