Posted on July 20, 2018

The Trump Administration Wants More Than 400,000 People to Leave the U.S. Here’s Who They Are and Why

Melissa Etehad, Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2018

For nearly three decades, the United States has allowed immigrants from certain countries plagued by civil war or natural disasters to live here until conditions in their homelands improved.

Such immigrants entered the country under what is known as Temporary Protected Status. {snip}

Kirstjen Nielsen, the Homeland Security secretary, on Thursday extended TPS for roughly 500 immigrants from Somalia. {snip}

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But immigrant rights advocates say the Trump administration has been unusually aggressive in revoking TPS status, often on flimsy grounds. Advocates have noted that many immigrants have been in the United States for so many years that it makes little sense to compel them to leave, especially if they have U.S.-born children. Defenders of the administration’s policy argue that TPS is, by definition, temporary and should end when living conditions improve in an immigrant’s homeland.

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El Salvador

Approximately 262,500 nationals of El Salvador must leave by September 2019. {snip}

{snip} California is home to the most TPS holders from El Salvador, approximately 49,100 people. Nielsen revoked protections after determining that recovery efforts after the 2001 earthquakes were complete.

Haiti

Nearly 59,000 Haitan immigrants will have their legal protections stripped on July 22, 2019. Haitians were allowed to stay in the U.S. following a massive earthquake in their home country in 2010. {snip}

Honduras

Temporary protected status for 86,000 Hondurans is set to end in January 2020. Hondurans were granted protection in January 1999 after severe flooding and damage from Hurricane Mitch. Nielsen determined that conditions have improved and people can safely return. {snip}

Nepal

The Trump administration is giving immigrants from Nepal until June 2019 to leave. Homeland Security officials estimate that roughly 14,800 Nepalese were granted protection following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck on April 25, 2015. {snip}

Nicaragua

About 5,300 immigrants from Nicaragua benefit from TPS status. The program for Nicaraguans is set to expire in January 2019.

Nicaragua was granted TPS status January 1999 after the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch. {snip}

Sudan

An estimated 1,040 immigrants from Sudan benefit from TPS status. Come November, Sudanese immigrants will have their protections stripped. The immigrants had been granted protection in 1999 because of armed conflict and violence.

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