The Trump administration is ending the temporary status for nearly 80,000 Hondurans and Nicaraguans that has allowed them to live and work in the US for more than a quarter of a century after a devastating hurricane hit Central America, according to federal government notices—a move that comes as the White House pushes to make more immigrants in the US eligible for deportation.
- The Department of Homeland Security said Monday in the Federal Register—in a notice set to become official on Tuesday—that Secretary Kristi Noem had reviewed conditions in Honduras and Nicaragua. She concluded the situations there had improved enough since the initial decision in 1999 that people currently protected by those temporary designations could return home, the AP reports.
- The department estimated that roughly 72,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans in the US are covered by the status that will now expire in roughly two months. However, the TPS Alliance, which advocates for immigrants covered by these temporary protections, estimated that about 40,000 Hondurans would be affected because many had obtained legal residency through various immigration channels.