(The Hill) – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday that it would rescind protections from deportation for Nicaragua and Honduras.
The move ends temporary protected status (TPS) for citizens of those countries living in the U.S., which were both established after the same deadly hurricane and in place for more than 25 years.
The move will end protections from deportation for more than 52,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans who have been in the U.S. since the late 1990s.
The protections are offered to those who are in the U.S. but cannot be safely returned home due to a natural disaster or civil unrest.
In announcing the move, the Trump administration called Honduras “a wonderful partner.”
“Temporary Protected Status was designed to be just that—temporary,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. “It is clear that the Government of Honduras has taken all of the necessary steps to overcome the impacts of Hurricane Mitch, almost 27 years ago. Honduran citizens can safely return home, and DHS is here to help facilitate their voluntary return.”
The statement on Nicaragua did not reference the authoritarian government of the country.
“The impacts of a natural disaster impacting Nicaragua in 1999 no longer exist. The environmental situation has improved enough that it is safe enough for Nicaraguan citizens to return home. This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that TPS remains temporary,” DHS said in its statement.
The move is the latest in a series of revocations of TPS carried out by Noem, who has also lifted protections for Haitians, Venezuelans, Cameroonians and Afghans. For those four countries alone, lifting TPS would force hundreds of thousands to leave the U.S.
Temporary protected status was issued for migrants from Nicaragua and Honduras after Hurricane Mitch devastated the countries, killing more than 10,000 in October 1998.
In extending the status, former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cited both widespread violence as well as violent crime in Honduras making conditions too dangerous to carry out deportations. A court order also kept the protections in place for both countries.
The Trump administration has blasted TPS as an abuse of the immigration system, but many Democrats and immigration advocates say targeting those with legal status unwinds protections for those who have complied with immigration laws and have not committed crimes.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) condemned the decision.
“These families have been here since the 1990s, working hard and contributing to our state and country for decades,” she wrote on social platform X.
“Sending innocent families back into danger won’t secure our border or make America safer. All it does is tear apart communities and hurt our businesses.”
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