The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday that Nicaragua’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) would end Jan. 5, 2019. DHS also extended the TPS designation for Honduras an additional six months from its Jan. 5, 2018, scheduled expiration.
TPS status was granted to both countries after Hurricane Mitch struck Central America in 1998. The storm killed nearly 20,000—with almost 11,000 dead in Nicaragua and Honduras.
“The decision to terminate TPS for Nicaragua was made after a review of the conditions upon which the country’s original 1999 designation were based and whether those substantial but temporary conditions prevented Nicaragua from adequately handling the return of their nationals, as required by statute,” said the release from DHS. “Acting Secretary [Elaine] Duke determined that those substantial but temporary conditions cause in Nicaragua by Hurricane Mitch no longer exist, and thus, under the applicable statute, the current TPS designation must be terminated.”
The 12-month delay before termination of Nicaragua’s TPS is designed to “provide time for individuals with TPS to seek an alternative lawful immigration status in the United State, if eligible, or if necessary, arrange for their departure.” The Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports 2,550 expected re-registrants for Nicaragua.
For Honduras, DHS needs more time. “Based on the lack of definitive information information regarding conditions on the ground compared to pre-Hurricane Mitch, the acting secretary has not made a determination … thereby automatically extending the current TPS designation for Honduras for six months,” the release stated. CRS noted 57,000 expected re-registrants from Honduras.
The release also urged Congress to “enact a permanent solution for this inherently temporary program.”
Both Nicaraguan and Honduran individuals with TPS will have to reapply Employment Authorization Documents to legally work in the United States through the extended time period.
The DHS secretary can designate TPS for individuals from countries with temporary conditions that prevent an individual’s safe return. This can include thing such as a civil war, natural disaster, or “other extraordinary temporary conditions.”
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