Protections for thousands of Central Americans ends

The Trump administration has signaled a desire to wind down the protections of Temporary Protected Status, which is an immigration status allowed by law for certain countries experiencing dire conditions, such as a natural disaster, epidemic or war. TPS protects individuals from deportation and authorizes them to work in the US. Without TPS, those individuals revert to whatever status they had previously -- which could leave large numbers as undocumented immigrants.

The Trump administration will end the protected immigration status of thousands of Central Americans who have been living in the US nearly two decades, urging Congress to act if it wants to spare those individuals from being uprooted.

Department of Homeland Security acting Secretary Elaine Duke has decided to terminate Temporary Protected Status for Nicaragua with a 12-month delay, the department announced Monday night. DHS also said Duke has not been able to reach a decision on Honduras despite different agencies' input, triggering an automatic six-month extension. At the end of that six-month window, the homeland security secretary will make a decision to terminate or further extend the status.

Roughly 5,300 people from Nicaragua have been protected; 86,000 from Honduras

The status of more than 300,000 individuals will be decided in coming months

In encouraging Congress to act if it wants to extend those protections permanently, the Trump administration echoed its move in ending the popular Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children and which President Donald Trump decided to sunset this fall.

The roughly 5,300 individuals from Nicaragua affected by this decision have lived in the US roughly 20 years: To qualify for TPS, Nicaraguans must have been living in the US continuously since January 5, 1999, after Hurricane Mitch devastated the country.

The Trump administration has already terminated the status for Sudan, extended protections for South Sudan, and given itself an extra six months to decide on protections for roughly 58,000 Haitians. That will be the next decision due, at the end of the month. 

Democrats were quick to call out the administration's move. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus called on Congress to act following the administration's "reckless" action.