President Joe Biden extends time in U.S. for 800,000 Venezuelans, Salvadorans as Donald Trump readies immigration crackdown

Homeland Security extends TPS for Venezuelans, Salvadorans, Ukrainians, and Sudanese in the U.S., facing uncertain future under Trump.

About 600,000 Venezuelans and more than 230,000 Salvadorans already living in the United States can legally remain another 18 months, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday, barely a week before President-elect Donald Trump takes office with promises of hardline immigration policies.

Biden’s administration has strongly supported Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which he has broadly expanded to cover about 1 million people. TPS faces an uncertain future under Trump, who tried to sharply curtail its use during his first term as president. Federal regulations would allow the extensions to be terminated early, although that’s never been done before.

Homeland Security also extended TPS for more than 103,000 Ukrainians and 1,900 Sudanese that are already living in the U.S.

For José Palma, a 48 year-old Salvadoran who has lived in the U.S. since 1998, the extension means that at least for now he can still work legally in Houston. He is the only person in his family with temporary status; his four children were born U.S. citizens and his wife is a permanent resident. If TPS was not extended he could be deported and separated from the rest of the family.

“It brings me peace of mind, a breath of fresh air,” Palma said. “It offers me stability”.

Palma, who works as an organizer at a day laborer organization, sends about $400 a month to his 73-year-old mother, who is retired and does not have any income.

The TPS designation gives people legal authority to be in the country but it doesn’t provide them a long-term path to citizenship. They are reliant on the government renewing their status when it expires. Conservative critics have said that over time, the renewal of the protection status becomes automatic, regardless of what is happening in the person’s home country.