The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) welcomes today’s announcement by the Biden Administration to rescind the Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, and provide an extension of TPS for these four countries for 18 months. The TPS extension will provide vital protection to an estimated 337,000 existing TPS beneficiaries from said countries.

“The extension of TPS for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua is a welcomed but overdue action from the Biden Administration to protect those who have fled immense violence, climate disasters, and other extraordinary circumstances and found refuge in the United States,” said USCRI President and CEO Eskinder Negash. “However, we are concerned that the decision falls short of a redesignation of TPS for these four countries, which would qualify more recent arrivals to apply for TPS as extraordinary conditions continue to prevent safe return. We cannot rest on a premise of protection for some and not protection for all.”

USCRI reiterates the need for a redesignation of TPS for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, and urges the Biden Administration to immediately grant TPS to countries that have long awaited a designation, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, Mauritania, and Mali. USCRI will continue to advocate for these designations and others until protection for all is realized and the well-being of all those seeking safety is prioritized.

USCRI, founded in 1911, is a non-governmental, not-for-profit international organization committed to working on behalf of refugees and immigrants and their transition to a dignified life.

For press inquiries, please contact: policy@uscrimail.org