Department of Homeland Security Announces Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Nicaragua & Automatic Extension for Honduras

On November 6, 2017, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke announced her decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Nicaragua. Temporary Protected Status was created by Congress in the Immigration Act of 1990 to provide a temporary legal status to nationals of certain countries due to temporary conditions that make the return of its nationals unsafe or impossible. Such conditions include natural disasters, civil war and epidemics. The Secretary of Homeland Security has discretion to designate which countries receive the TPS classification, and its designation is issued for 6, 12, or 18-month intervals. The termination of Nicaragua’s TPS classification was announced with a delayed effective start date of 12 months to allow for an “orderly transition” prior to the termination of status on January 5, 2019. According to the Statement, the decision to terminate TPS for Nicaragua was made after a review of the conditions upon which the country’s original 1999 designation were based and whether those substantial but temporary conditions prevented Nicaragua from adequately handling the return of their nationals. The statement also noted that there was also no request made by the Nicaraguan government to extend the current TPS status. For more information on Temporary Protected Status, click here.

In addition to the termination of Nicaragua’s TPS classification, the Department of Homeland Security also announced that additional information was necessary regarding the TPS designation for Honduras, and therefore made no determination regarding Honduras. By virtue of the indecision, the TPS designation for Honduras will be automatically extended from the current January 5, 2018 date of expiration to July 5, 2018. You can find out more alternatives to TPS by clicking here.