US Moves to End Humanitarian Protections for Honduran and Nicaraguan Immigrants

On Monday, the Trump administration announced that it will revoke the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 70,000 immigrants from Honduras and Nicaragua. This decision by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will take effect in early September, ending longstanding humanitarian protections established to prevent deportation of foreigners from these countries. TPS for Honduras and Nicaragua was originally created in 1999 following the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch, which brought severe flooding and massive loss of life in Central America.

Currently, about 72,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans enrolled in TPS have work permits and protection from deportation. The termination notices published by DHS indicate that these individuals will become vulnerable to deportation unless they find other legal means to remain in the U.S. Established by Congress in 1990, TPS offers temporary safe haven to immigrants from countries deemed unsafe to return to due to armed conflict, natural disasters, or other crises.

The Trump administration’s move represents a broader effort to dismantle TPS programs for multiple nations, including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, thereby increasing the pool of immigrants subject to deportation. This aligns with President Trump’s campaign promises focusing on mass deportations and stricter immigration policies. Contrastingly, the Biden administration has recently expanded TPS offerings, giving hundreds of thousands of immigrants—primarily from Haiti and Venezuela—the ability to apply for such protections.

The revocation raises significant concerns about the immediate future for these immigrant communities, many of whom have been residing and working in the U.S. legally for decades. The decision highlights the ongoing conflict between humanitarian immigration measures and the Trump administration’s stringent enforcement policies.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to revoke the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs for immigrants from Honduras and Nicaragua, effective early September. Approximately 72,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans currently benefit from TPS, which grants work permits and protection against deportation. Many of these individuals arrived in the 1990s following the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch, which led to the initial designation of TPS for these countries in 1999. TPS was created by Congress in 1990 as a humanitarian program allowing foreigners to remain temporarily in the U.S. when returning to their home countries presents danger due to armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other crises. Despite the Biden administration expanding TPS eligibility to hundreds of thousands from countries including Haiti and Venezuela, the Trump administration sought to curtail these protections as part of a broader hardline immigration policy. The administration has moved to dismantle TPS programs affecting immigrants from multiple nations such as Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, thereby increasing the pool of individuals eligible for arrest and deportation. The DHS’s official termination notices emphasize that unless these immigrants have alternate legal avenues to remain, they will face risk of deportation. This revocation represents a significant shift in U.S. immigration policy and impacts longstanding immigrant communities who have relied on TPS for legal status and work rights in the country.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's attempt to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 60,000 individuals from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The decision extends TPS, which was set to expire, and prevents job loss, loss of health insurance, family separation, and deportation for these immigrants. The judge's ruling also avoids a $1.4 billion loss to the economy. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had previously ruled to terminate these protections, citing improved conditions in the countries, particularly noting recovery from Hurricane Mitch in 1998.