Georgetown Law & UBN Life on Hold

Temporary Protected Status Brief Overview of TPS

TPS is designated to a country by the Secretary of Homeland Security due to conditions in that country that temporarily prevent that country’s nationals from returning safely. 41 Working under the authority of DHS, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may grant TPS to eligible nationals of certain countries or parts of countries who are already in the United States. The following are conditions under which the Secretary may designate a country for TPS: ongoing armed conflict (such as a civil war), an environmental disaster, an epidemic, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. 42 TPS is, as indicated by its name, temporary and does not lead to lawful permanent resident status or any other immigration status. However, under TPS, an individual may still apply for nonimmigrant visa status, file for adjustment of status based on an immigrant petition, or apply for any other immigration benefit or protection for which they may be eligible. 43 TPS can be repeatedly redesignated for countries with temporary but continuing conditions that remain unsafe or unstable. As a result, many TPS holders have been living in the United States for decades with merely temporary status. Countries currently designated for TPS include El Salvador , Haiti , Honduras , Nepal , Nicaragua , Somalia , Sudan , South Sudan , Syria , and Yemen. There are currently more than 425,000 people with TPS in the United States. 44 Opportunities Although TPS is impermanent, individuals eligible for TPS can apply for a work permit and can gain “lawful status as a nonimmigrant.” 45 Obstacles TPS alone does not grant any legal status--only temporary protection against deportation. TPS also does not provide a path to permanent residence or to eventual U.S. citizenship. The temporary nature of this form of relief (given that TPS is typically designated for only 6 to 18 months at a time for each country under consideration) leads to significant uncertainty among these individuals and their networks of family, TPS accounts for temporary relief for many Black immigrants, given that the current list of TPS designees includes three African countries and one Caribbean country. The Trump Administration sought to systematically cut off TPS designations, adding to the devastating impact felt by Black TPS holders nationwide. 46 Additionally, TPS is a very limited and temporary formof relief. Any change in administration, or inDHS leadership, could lead to a country’s TPSdesignation expiring.Thismeans that BlackTPSholders are in a constant state of uncertainty, unable to begin lasting careers, purchase property, or root themselves deeply in the United States. Some TPS holders who have children born in the United States live in fear that friends, and children born in the United States. TPS Through the Black Immigrant Lens

41 Temporary Protected Status, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Servs., https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected- status (last visited May 4, 2021).

42 Id. 43 Id.

44 Temporary Protected Status (TPS), The UndocuBlack Network, https://undocuBlack.org/tps (last visited May 4, 2021). 45 Jill H. Wilson, Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure, Cong. Res. Serv. (RS20844) (2021). 46 Ibrahim, supra note 10.

Life On Hold: Black Immigrants & the Promise of Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness

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