Migrants eat at La Colaborativa day shelter on February 22, 2024 in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images
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Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images
The Biden administration announced Friday it would extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status for 18 months for up to 309,000 unauthorized Haitian immigrants living in the country.
Temporary Protected Status, also known as TPS, is not permanent legal status but provides protection from deportation and allows immigrants to obtain work permits and sometimes travel authorization.
TPS will apply to Haitians already in temporary protection status. The redesignation will allow Haitians who have been in the United States since the beginning of this month to apply for initial TPS.
The extension begins on August 4 and runs until February 3, 2026.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that the extension was needed “due to the extraordinary and temporary circumstances in Haiti.”
“Given the situation in Haiti’s homeland as of June 3, 2024, we are providing humanitarian relief to Haitians already in the United States,” Secretary Mayorkas said.
The TPS extension issued today cited “simultaneous economic, security, political and health crises” in Haiti as part of the reason the Biden administration is extending the program.
NPR reports that criminal groups have taken over the streets, leading to rampant crime and violence.
The TPS announcement also cited the economic impact of environmental disasters and political instability as reasons for people to leave the country.
