Temporary Protected Status (TPS): An Explainer

What are the characteristics of the TPS recipient population in the United States?

Approximately 436,866 TPS holders live in the United States, with the largest groups located in California (80,636 individuals), Florida (60,969 individuals), Texas (55,514 individuals), and New York (53,412 individuals). Nearly 273,000 U.S. citizen children have one or two parents with TPS status. More than half of all TPS holders, 254,550, come from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. These TPS holders mostly live in major metropolitan areas including Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, and Miami, with an average length of residency in the United States of 20 years. 

The major population centers for Salvadoran TPS holders are California and Texas, particularly in the cities of Los Angeles and Houston. Most Haitian TPS holders live in Florida, especially in the Miami metropolitan area, where 80 percent have entered the labor force. In contrast to Salvadoran and Haitian TPS holders, Honduran TPS holders are more dispersed across the United States. However, Texas has the largest Honduran TPS population, with 8,400 individuals living in the state.

 

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What industries do TPS recipients work in?  

Although comprehensive data on TPS recipients is difficult to come by, at least one survey found that 88.5 percent of all TPS holders are in the U.S. labor force, demonstrating higher labor participation rates than U.S. citizens and other non-citizen groups. The five leading industries for Salvadoran, Honduran, and Haitian TPS holders include construction (51,700 individuals), restaurants and other food services (32,400 individuals), landscaping services (15,800 individuals), child day care services (10,000 individuals), and grocery stores (9,200 individuals).

More than half of TPS holders from the two largest populations (El Salvador and Honduras) pursue additional educational opportunities in the United States. A 2016 study found that approximately half of Salvadoran and Honduran TPS holders enrolled in English language courses (36.4 percent), completed high school or general education courses (9.6 percent), received a certification (4.9 percent), or enrolled in a university program or obtained a university degree (2.6 percent).

How has Congress responded to the termination of  TPS status for certain countries

During the 115th Congress in 2017, lawmakers proposed seven bills to extend TPS or provide a pathway to legal status for at least some of the countries whose designation has been terminated. While the proposed bills would allow certain groups to adjust status to permanent residence or obtain a TPS extension, the requirements, beneficiaries, and eligibility vary among the bills.

House members from both parties have proposed six bills, including the American Promise Act (H.R. 4253); the Act to Sustain the Protection of Immigrant Residents Earned through TPS (ASPIRE TPS) (H.R. 4384); Continue American Safety Act (CASA)(H.R. 6326); Extending Status Protection for Eligible Refugees with Established Residency Act (ESPERER Act) (H.R. 4184); TPS Extension Act of 2018 (H.R.6696) and the TPS Act of 2018 (H.R. 4750). While the ESPERER Act, American Promise Act, and TPS Act of 2018 provide different groups of TPS holders with a pathway to legal status, the ASPIRE TPS, TPS Extension Act of 2018, and CASA only extend TPS status for groups without granting access to a pathway to legal status.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced the S. 2144 Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and Emergency (SECURE) Act, which would provide a pathway to adjustment of status for eligible TPS and deferred enforced departure status holders if they have remained in the United States continuously for over three years and have a clean criminal record. In addition to these bills, 74 Democratic House members and 27 Democratic Senate members signed a letter expressing concern about the administration’s decision to eliminate TPS status for Hondurans, Salvadorans, and Haitians.

All legislation on TPS will have to be reintroduced when the 116th Congress convenes in January 2019.[note]Although the administration has not yet decided on granting TPS status for Venezuela, Congress has taken steps to push for this option. The anticipated new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), will propose legislation creating for TPS for Venezuelans. Menendez and Durbin, along with Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced legislation in December that would also grant TPS status to Venezuelans as well as allocate $10 million to assist countries in the region who are receiving Venezuelan emigrants. [/note]

Have the courts weighed in on these terminations

In March 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network filed a lawsuit on behalf of TPS holders and U.S. citizen children of TPS holders contesting the legal grounds of the administration’s decision to eliminate TPS status for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan. In October 2018, a U.S. district court judge in California issued a preliminary injunction against the removal of this status for the four countries. The judge stated that the administration’s decision was an “arbitrary” act that would negatively impact these beneficiaries and their families. The judge also stated that the decision reflected racial animus towards the nationals of these countries. Although the lawsuit remains in litigation, DHS extended TPS for these countries until at least April 2, 2019.