WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden's administration on Friday renewed deportation relief that currently covers 900,000 immigrants from Venezuela, El Salvador, Ukraine and Sudan, a move that would delay any attempts by President-elect Donald Trump to sunset those protections.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extended enrollment in the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for those nations, giving those immigrants a deportation reprieve and access to work permits for an additional 18 months.
Biden, a Democrat, greatly increased the number of immigrants eligible for TPS since taking office in 2021. The status, which is available to people whose home country has experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event, now covers more than 1 million people from 17 nations.
Trump, a Republican returning to the White House on Jan. 20, sought to end most TPS enrollment during his 2017-2021 term in office but was stymied by U.S. courts. Trump won another term in office promising a vast immigration crackdown and again is expected to try to terminate most TPS protections.
Trump's transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Biden administration's moves on Friday stopped short of more sweeping demands by activists and some Democrats to grant TPS to more recently arrived immigrants and those from other nations.
Todd Schulte, president of advocacy group FWD.us, said the extensions would allow hundreds of thousands of people to continue "contributing to their communities, supporting their families, and strengthening the economy" but also urged Biden to expand TPS to Nicaragua and other nations.
Some 600,000 Venezuelans are eligible for TPS, the biggest population in the program.
The Biden administration, which first granted Venezuelans the status in 2021, cited high levels of crime in Venezuela related to political and economic instability under President Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in for a third term on Friday.