Millions At Risk as Donald Trump Vows to End Temporary Protected Status; Immigrant Communities in Panic; 1 Million Migrants in U.S. Rely On Temporary Protective Status That Trump Could Target

Millions at risk as Donald Trump vows to end Temporary Protected Status; Immigrant communities in panic:

More than a million immigrants in the United States face an uncertain future as the Joe Biden administration’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations hang in the balance, with President-elect Donald Trump and his administration pledging to scale back or end the program.

TPS, which allows individuals from countries deemed unsafe to live and work legally in the US, has been a lifeline for over a million people from nations like Venezuela, Haiti, Sudan, and Afghanistan. But with Trump’s upcoming policies promising mass deportations and a rollback of TPS protections, many families and communities are bracing for significant change.

Among those at risk is Maribel Hidalgo, a Venezuelan immigrant, left her homeland a year ago, enduring a challenging journey with her 1-year-old son through Panama’s treacherous Darien Gap and Mexico, before reaching the US.

President-elect Donald Trump, along with Vice President-elect JD Vance, has vowed to scale back TPS and conduct widespread deportations. They argue that programs like TPS and humanitarian parole, which protect over a million immigrants, should be reduced. Trump claimed unverified allegations that Haitian TPS holders in Springfield, Ohio, were “eating their neighbors’ pets” and raised concerns about Venezuelan gangs allegedly taking over apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado.

Hidalgo, now living in a New York migrant hotel, voiced her fears as she looked at her sleeping son. “My only hope was TPS,” she said. “After everything we went through, I’m scared of being sent back.” Venezuelans, Haitians, and Salvadorans represent the largest groups protected under TPS, with a lot at risk.

Haiti, recently plagued by escalating violence, saw its international airport shut down this week as gangs attacked a landing commercial flight. The Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily barred U.S. airlines from flying there. Vania André, editor-in-chief of The Haitian Times, emphasized, “Sending thousands back to Haiti is not an option. The country is overwhelmed by gang violence and cannot support more people.” —>READ MORE HERE

1 million migrants in U.S. rely on temporary protective status that Trump could target

Maribel Hidalgo fled her native Venezuela a year ago with a 1-year-old son, trudging for days through Panama’s Darien Gap, then riding the rails across Mexico to the United States.

They were living in the U.S. when the Biden administration announced Venezuelans would be offered Temporary Protected Status, which allows people already in the United States to stay and work legally if their homelands are deemed unsafe. People from 17 countries, including Haiti, Afghanistan, Sudan and recently Lebanon, are currently receiving such relief.

But President-elect Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, have promised mass deportations and suggested they would scale back the use of TPS that covers more than 1 million immigrants. They have highlighted unfounded claims that Haitians who live and work legally in Springfield, Ohio, as TPS holders were eating their neighbors’ pets. Trump also amplified disputed claims made by the mayor of Aurora, Colorado, about Venezuelan gangs taking over an apartment complex.

“What Donald Trump has proposed doing is we’re going to stop doing mass parole,” Vance said at an Arizona rally in October, mentioning a separate immigration status called humanitarian parole that is also at risk. “We’re going to stop doing mass grants of Temporary Protected Status.”

Hidalgo wept as she discussed her plight with a reporter as her son, now 2, slept in a stroller outside the New York migrant hotel where they live. At least 7.7 million people have fled political violence and economic turmoil in Venezuela in one of the biggest displacements worldwide.

“My only hope was TPS,” Hidalgo said. “My worry, for example, is that after everything I suffered with my son so that I could make it to this country, that they send me back again.”

Venezuelans along with Haitians and Salvadorans are the largest group of TPS beneficiaries and have the most at stake.

Haiti’s international airport shut down this week after gangs opened fire at a commercial flight landing in Port-Au-Prince while a new interim prime minister was sworn in. The Federal Aviation Administration barred U.S. airlines from landing there for 30 days.

“It’s creating a lot of anxiety,” said Vania André, editor-in-chief for The Haitian Times, an online newspaper covering the Haitian diaspora. “Sending thousands of people back to Haiti is not an option. The country is not equipped to handle the widespread gang violence already and cannot absorb all those people.”

Designations by the Homeland Security secretary offer relief for up to 18 months but are extended in many cases. The designation for El Salvador ends in March. Designations for Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela end in April. Others expire later. —>READ MORE HERE

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