The Biden administration is extended About 1 million migrants from Venezuela and El Salvador have been granted temporary protection ahead of an expected immigration crackdown under President-elect Donald Trump.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that it will extend protected status for an additional 18 months for nearly 600,000 immigrants from Venezuela and more than 230,000 immigrants from El Salvador.
President Trump has previously opposed TPS policies, and federal regulations allow for early termination of protections.
President Trump has promised to begin mass deportations to address the U.S. illegal immigration crisis, which has worsened under the Biden administration. Advocates for illegal immigrants oppose mass deportations, saying such policies are inhumane and unconstitutional, but many officials say the effort is necessary to deter further illegal immigration. claims.
Protection measures were also extended for 103,000 Ukrainians and 1,900 Sudanese immigrants living in the United States.
President Trump has previously opposed the TPS policy, and while federal regulations allow for early termination of protections, that has never been done, according to the Associated Press.
The program was created by Congress in 1990 to allow immigrants fleeing natural disasters or civil war to obtain work permits for up to 18 months at a time. Venezuelans could qualify for protection based on a “serious humanitarian emergency” caused by the communist Maduro regime, while migrants from El Salvador could qualify for protection based on “environmental conditions” such as heavy rains and storms. qualified.
Immigrants eligible for TPS are not offered a path to citizenship through that program.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Democrat of Nevada, praised the announcement but lamented that the Biden administration had not done more for other immigrants in the United States.
“I am pleased that the Biden administration has taken the steps I have called for to protect DACA recipients and extend TPS in El Salvador and Venezuela, which will protect hard-working immigrant communities across the country. It will be.” she wrote. “It is disappointing that President Biden did not redesignate TPS for Nicaragua and Ecuador.”
Immigration became a focus of the 2024 presidential election after several Republican governors began sending illegal immigrants to Democratic-controlled states that had implemented “sanctuary city” protections for illegal aliens. After increasing strains on social services, many Democrats were forced to acknowledge that illegal immigration was a problem that needed to be addressed by the federal government.
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