End of TPS Programs Leave Many Immigrants Vulnerable to Deportation

By Jack Rosenberry

Some of the immigrants at greatest risk of deportation now are those who until recently had Temporar

y Protected Status (TPS), which allowed people to remain in the United States because of unsafe conditions in their home countries.

Shortly after the Trump administration took office, however, the Department of Homeland Security revoked an extension of a TPS program for some immigrants -- notably from Venezuela -- that had been started by the Biden administration. Other DHS orders have ended TPS designations for some other countries, including Afghanistan.

Two different Supreme Court decisions in May overruled lower court decisions that blocked the administration from removing TPS protections and deporting people while a separate lawsuit about the ultimate fate of the program is ongoing. So for now the practical effect is that anyone who had TPS could face immediate deportation because they lack legal status to remain in the United States.

TPS typically had allowed immigrants to remain in the US for approximately 18 to 24 months and could be renewed. Renewals are no longer being processed, in line with the end of the program. 

But the situation is complicated, said immigration attorney Brandon Roché, because people could be in the US under TPS programs started at different times, or could be here under other temporary parole programs.  

Further confusing things is that DHS is not sending individual notifications about withdrawal of TPS. It is the individual's responsibility to know what program allowed them into the United States and what is happening with it, Roché said, but many people may be unclear about which program covers them.

Perhaps worst of all, an immigrant trying to do the right thing and leave the United States voluntarily because they know they have lost their temporary status could face a Catch-22 that ends with them in detention. 

Leaving the US voluntarily requires a passport, but many TPS or other parole recipients may have had their passports confiscated by ICE or are unable to get a passport from their home country if there’s no active consulate in the U.S. Paperwork can be filed to have a passport returned from ICE but doing that requires providing an address for return in the mail, or making an appointment at an immigration office to pick it up, which people may be reluctant to do in the current climate.

Even TPS holders who have court dates for other immigration matters, such as a request for asylum, could be at risk of being arrested when they show up for that court date because the TPS that allowed them to remain is no longer valid. Sometimes court hearings can be held virtually to help avoid that. But getting a virtual hearing requires going through a multi-step process with a lot of lead time, which means securing an online hearing isn't always possible, Roché said.

Ignoring a court date or otherwise ignoring the loss of TPS status and just staying without status could result in arrest and deportation, of course. This is especially true for anyone subject to expedited removal, which gives ICE the authority to deport people who have been in the U.S. for less than two years without giving them an opportunity to go before an immigration judge.

One thing immigrants who may be out of status should do is be very careful if they need to travel, according to Roché . “Any time they're traveling, they are opening themselves up to different jurisdictions, different law enforcement approaches, and different interpretations of the current law,” he said. Something as simple as a traffic stop could lead to detention and deportation if local law enforcement is working with ICE officers to help find out-of-status immigrants.

The best advice he could offer for people who have lost TPS status, Roché added, is to talk to a qualified immigration attorney about the best options for an individual situation before deciding what to do. He said it was difficult if not impossible to offer blanket advice because of so many unique factors that could apply to any individual’s case.

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The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has a web page about Temporary Protected Status, including answers to frequently asked questions and a list of countries with TPS programs with current status of those programs.