WASHINGTON β Two years into an administration that faces legislative inaction and numerous legal challenges to its immigration agenda, the Temporary Protected Status program has emerged as a key tool for President Joe Biden.
The program allows immigrants who cannot safely return to their home countries to work legally and avoid deportation for 18-month periods. And it allows Biden to unilaterally designate which countries are eligible, bypassing Congress.
That has enabled Bidenβs Department of Homeland Security to deliver immigration relief to hundreds of thousands of people, even as lawmakers fail to advance other immigration policies and Republican-led states use lawsuits to hamper other initiatives, including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Biden has more than doubled the number of immigrants eligible for TPS, according to an analysis from the Cato Institute. In January 2021, 411,326 people were eligible. That number has since risen to 986,881.
And in 2023 β when a Republican-controlled House is unlikely to pursue any immigration overhaul β advocates and lawmakers want Biden to go even further.
Migrants walk towards the US-Mexico border Dec. 14 in Ciudad JuΓ‘rez, Mexico.
βHe has the power and the legal authority to expand TPS,β said JosΓ© Palma, a TPS recipient from Massachusetts who immigrated from Honduras more than 20 years ago and advocates for broader TPS protections.
βWe feel that he should use it as an opportunity to say, βWhile we continue the conversation on finding a permanent solution, at least for people who are here, for people who qualify β weβre going to provide TPS.ββ
Turnaround from Trump
The TPS program has not always enjoyed support from the White House. Former President Donald Trump attempted to terminate TPS status for roughly 400,000 people, but his efforts were halted in court.
βThe Trump administrationβs goal with the TPS program was to mostly shut it down,β said David Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute.
Trump tried to end TPS designations for Sudan, Haiti, El Salvador, Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua. TPS holders from those countries then sued the government and won temporary relief.
In October of this year, settlement talks between the Biden administration and the immigrant plaintiffs in that case collapsed, but the Biden administration subsequently announced it would preserve TPS for the 300,000 immigrants whose fate had been at risk.
In the past two years, Bidenβs DHS has broadened existing TPS designations for Somalia, Syria, South Sudan and Yemen, allowing more recently arrived immigrants to apply.
It has also made new designations for Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Cameroon, Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela, opening up protection to entirely new categories of immigrants.
TPS has been βan absolutely essential tool, as part of his overall immigration strategy, to make sure he doesnβt need to deport people who would be going back to countries in turmoil,β Bier said.
Legislative morass
Advocates and progressive lawmakers have spent months urging the Biden administration to use TPS more broadly in the absence of legislative progress on immigration.
Shortly after his inauguration, Biden unveiled a sweeping immigration proposal that would have legalized 11 million undocumented immigrants. In 2021, Democrats tried and failed to include many of those provisions in a party-line budget reconciliation bill, which ran into parliamentary problems and intraparty opposition from a handful of key moderates.
More recently, a narrower bipartisan deal between Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., did not materialize in time for consideration before the end of the 117th Congress.
And a House bill that would allow TPS recipients a path to citizenship has yet to advance in the Senate.
Critical tool
Next Congress, with Republicans poised to control the House, the outlook for immigration legislation is even dimmer. House GOP lawmakers are planning to focus on oversight of the Biden administrationβs border policies and investigate Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for impeachable offenses.
As a result, advocates and progressive lawmakers have spent months urging the Biden administration to use TPS more broadly in the wake of court drama and legislative inaction on immigration.
βItβs something that they can do without congressional approval,β said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., a longtime proponent of the TPS program.
βThey could reauthorize those categories and expand on it,β he said. βSo that would be a way of administratively helping a large number of people.β
Although TPS doesnβt lead to citizenship, Palma said, it provides a key measure of stability for undocumented immigrants who otherwise would live their lives in the shadows.
βTPS, while not the perfect solution, provides many, many opportunities,β he said. Since his TPS application was approved in 2001, he has worked multiple jobs and attended college in Massachusetts. He also obtained a driverβs license so that he can drive his four children to their various activities.
βOne of the most important things that sometimes many people donβt think about is the tranquility you feel when you go to bed and you know you are protected β that you are not afraid of getting arrested by immigration.β
Photos: Scenes from the US-Mexico border as Title 42 decision looms
Migrants eat and wait for help while camping on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Two young migrants from Venezuela share a coloring book while waiting for help in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
A migrant covers himself with blankets while waiting for help in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Mexican migrant Carmen Aros and four of her five daughters wait for news before attempting to cross the border into the U.S while staying at a church-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Migrants wait near the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Migrants stand near the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Migrants look towards the U.S.-Mexico border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Venezuelan migrant Jonathan Colina mops the floor of a government-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Migrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and turn themselves into U.S. Border Patrol agents, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Two migrants, who met earlier on their way to the U.S., celebrate after seeing each other in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Migrants form a line to receive warm food donated by residents in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Migrants from El Salvador pose for a photo while waiting for help on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
A migrant family from Venezuela camps on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
A resident distributes homemade sandwiches to migrants camping on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
A migrant unfolds a donated blanket to prepare to spend another day on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
A migrant from El Salvador covers himself from a light winter drizzle while camping on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
A migrant from Ecuador crosses the Rio Grande toward El Paso, Texas, from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
A migrant walks between rows of bunk beds at a government run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Venezuelan migrant Gerardo Viloria celebrates a goal by Argentina while watching the TV broadcast of the FIFA World Cup final game at a government-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Guatemalan migrant Maudelina Geronimo feeds her three-year-old daughter Lisbeth at a government run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Young Mexican migrants play soccer at a church-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
A small group of migrants discuss whether or not to cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and surrender to the Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
