Biden Greatly Expands Program to offer Illegal Immigrants in the U.S. “Temporary” Reprieve

Besides condoning record-breaking illegal immigration (2.4 million migrants in fiscal year 2022), the Biden administration is quietly protecting hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals who for years have lived in the U.S. illegally by multiplying a program designed to offer temporary reprieve. The provisional amnesty is known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a humanitarian measure designed to shield undocumented aliens from deportation during emergencies. It is supposed to be a short-term solution for foreigners that do not quality as refugees but cannot immediately return home because of difficulties caused by factors such as violence, natural disasters, or political and economic instability. TPS, which is typically granted in 18-month increments, not only protects foreign nationals from deportation it also allows them to work in the U.S.

The Obama administration went crazy with TPS, renewing it for tens of thousands of Hondurans and Nicaraguans more than a decade and a half after a hurricane hit the Central American nations, prolonging it for Africans two years after originally issuing it due to Ebola, and repeatedly restoring it for tens of thousands of Haitians years after an earthquake struck the impoverished island. During its two terms the Obama administration never missed an opportunity to offer illegal immigrants reprieve, using inclement weather in the U.S., a virus, natural disasters and tainted water in an American city to extend the perk. Nationals of Yemen have been protected by both Democrats and Republicans, receiving TPS over “ongoing armed conflict” under Obama and two extensions under Trump. It is worth noting that Yemen is a hotbed of terrorism that serves as the headquarters of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

In an apparent effort to keep its promise of rebuilding a safe, orderly and humane immigration system that Biden asserts “was gutted by the previous Administration,” the president has greatly expanded the number of immigrants who qualify for TPS, a new report reveals. Using figures obtained from the government, the report, published by a well-known nonpartisan think tank, estimates that 670,000 individuals from 16 countries are either registered for TPS or newly eligible for it. Illegal aliens from the following countries currently benefit from the temporary reprieve: Afghanistan, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen. El Salvador leads with more than 190,000 TPS beneficiaries in the U.S. followed by Venezuela (171,550) and Haiti (105,000), the figures show.

The moment he got elected president, Biden worked to broaden the TPS program adding several countries including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, Ukraine and Venezuela. The administration has also extended the terms of eligibility for those that were already covered by the amnesty, according to the report. The commander-in-chief has also fought to get Congress to pass a law allowing TPS recipients to receive legal residency (also known as a green card) that would eventually allow them to become American citizens. “The Biden administration’s expansions stand in contrast to the Trump administration’s efforts to end TPS for nearly all beneficiaries, which were blocked by a series of lawsuits,” the report states. “Those lawsuits are ongoing and continue to threaten the future of the TPS program and create uncertainty for its participants.”

Most illegal immigrants protected under TPS have lived in the U.S. for decades and have settled in every state with California, Florida, New York and Texas seeing the largest numbers. The humanitarian relief was approved by Congress as part of the Immigration Act of 1990 and gives the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary the authority to designate a country for TPS to offer safe haven to foreign nationals who do not qualify for asylum but claim to be fleeing a potentially dangerous situation back home. The government is required to announce 60 days before any TPS designation expires whether it will be extended. If it does not the TPS automatically extends for six months.