Trump Punts on TPS Decisions for Ukraine and Sudan
Photo credits: Ashraf Shazly/Getty (left); Alexei Alexandrov/Associated Press (right)
What happened to TPS for Ukraine and Sudan?
Yesterday, the Trump Administration held off on ending the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Ukraine and Sudan, which had both been set to expire that day.
Instead of explicitly extending or ending them, however, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it would make an announcement about these countries’ TPS designations “at the appropriate time.” Until then, Sudanese and Ukrainian immigrants with TPS protection retain that protection and their work authorizations.
These actions follow a similar announcement when El Salvador’s TPS designation expired last month and depart from Trump’s second term trend of canceling TPS designation for nearly every country that has come up for renewal.
Why has Trump stopped ending TPS designations?
We see a few possible reasons:
- First and most obviously, the Administration’s harsh immigration policies have not been popular with the American public. A recent ABC New/Washington Post poll found that 61% of those polled disapprove of Trump’s immigration policies. With prognosticators bullish on Democrats taking control of at least one house in Congress in the upcoming midterms, the President likely recognizes that ending protections for even more immigrants will not help his party on Election Day. This is likely particularly true with respect to Ukraine and Sudan, where ending TPS would mean sending immigrants back to active war zones.
- Second, immigrants play an important role in our economy and Salvadoran immigrants in particular are over-represented in the construction industry. The President spent his career in the building industry and currently spends an inordinate amount of time focused on construction-related projects, such as his planned White House ballroom and the renovation of the golf course in East Potomac Park. The building industry has already been hard hit by Trump’s immigration raids, with many workers—documented and undocumented—staying away from work. Press reports revealed that construction industry lobbyists asked him to hold off on ending TPS protection for El Salvador, for fear it would only exacerbate this problem, particularly in DC, home to a large number of Salvadoran immigrants.
- Third, foreign affairs likely also played a role:
- Trump has had a close relationship with Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, who has reportedly been worried about the effect of ending TPS on the economy of his country. More than 170,000 Salvadorans enjoy TPS protection and many of them regularly send money to their families back home, which helps prop up the Salvadoran economy.
- With respect to Ukraine, Trump is already getting rare Republican pushback on his recent waiving of sanctions against Russia, which were intended to incentivize Russia to end its war with Ukraine. Ending protections for Ukrainian immigrants when their country is still being bombarded by Russian missiles would likely not land well with many members of the Republican congressional caucus.
What does all this mean for TPS holders from El Salvador, Ukraine, and Sudan?
Until further notice, they retain their TPS protection and work authorization. However, the future for TPS holders from these countries is uncertain. This is a good time for TPS holders to consult an immigration attorney to see whether there might be other pathways available that would allow them to remain in the U.S. in the event their TPS protection is terminated. Benach Pitney Reilly would be happy to provide a consultation and help you on your immigration journey.