By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami
MIAMI | In a little-publicized notice posted in theFederal Register Nov. 4, the Department of Homeland Security announced that all beneficiaries of TPS — Temporary Protected Status — “will retain their TPS” through Jan. 4, 2021.
That’s great news for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal and Sudan who were facing deportation when the Trump administration decided to end their temporary permission to work and live legally in the U.S.
“Termination is being held in abeyance by a judge” pending the resolution of three lawsuits against TPS termination, said Randolph McGrorty, executive director of Catholic Legal Services of the Archdiocese of Miami.
The posting in the Federal Register noted that DHS was taking this action “to ensure its continued compliance with the preliminary injunction orders” of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The courts are considering three different lawsuits: Ramos, et al. v. Nielsen, et al.; Saget, et al., v. Trump, et al.; and Bhattarai v. Nielsen.
The best news for TPS beneficiaries is that this is an automatic extension. They don’t need to do anything to retain their status.
“They don’t need to file anything, neither for TPS extension nor employment authorization. It’s all automatic,” McGrorty said.
He stressed that employers cannot require any additional documentation. Immigrants need only show them the notice from the Federal Register and their expired employment authorization.
TPS would have expired Jan. 2, 2020 for beneficiaries from Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Sudan; on Jan. 5, 2020 for those from Honduras; and March 24, 2020 for those from Nepal.
