United States extended Temporary Protected Status to Caribbean countries

Temporary Protected Status, TPS, for citizens of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti, Sudan and Nepal it was extended as announced by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The extension is until December 31, 2022.

It should be noted that this is an extension of the existing program and not a new designation, which implies that It protects those who already have a GST but does not open the possibility for new people to apply for it.

TPS is a program of the United States government through which people in certain countries who have suffered natural tragedies or experienced violent incidents, can legally live and work in the United States. It is a program at the sole discretion of the executive and does not require congressional approval.

However, it is not an immigration status. There are therefore people who have had this type of protection for decades (which is renewed every and a half years), without the ability to access residency and eventually become citizens of the United States.

There are currently a few 319 thousand beneficiaries of this program, to those who Some 427,000 more will be added who have become eligible since the Biden administration announced it was expanding the program for Venezuelan citizens.

The Savior has 198,420 citizens living in the United States under this program, being the main country benefiting from this policy, followed by Honduras with 60,350 people, Haiti with 40 865 and Nepal with 10,160.

In the case of VenezuelanAt first, they had 6 months to enroll in the program. However, due to complications from COVID-19, authorities has decided to extend the registration period for an additional 18 months, making it available until September 9, 2022.

Once the government accepts a country’s citizens as eligible for TPS, it imposes restrictions. For example, these citizens must already live in the United States until a certain date before they can apply for the benefit. If the person meets the conditions, The procedure costs around $ 300, in terms of fees, making it one of the cheapest migration processes in the country.

Although TPS has many advantages, the constant criticism of immigrant organizations is that it does not offer immigration status, basically leaving people in limbo. This has not happened for decades, but it may be that a government decides not to extend the TPS to certain countries and these people must immediately withdraw from the United States.

The argument of the United States government is that this is a program of temporary help when there is a conflict in the country of origin, and the idea is for people to come back once they are resolved.

But in the case of some Caribbean countries, some of its citizens have been living in the US under GST for over 20 years. Even if the situation were resolved in the country of origin, these people already have roots in that country.

President Joe Biden He promised that immigration reform would be among the priorities of his administration.

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