Biden extends time in US for 800,000 Venezuelans, Salvadorans as Trump readies immigration crackdown

[January 11, 2025]  By GISELA SALOMON

MIAMI (AP) — About 600,000 Venezuelans and more than 230,000 Salvadorans already living in the United States can legally remain another 18 months, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday, barely a week before President-elect Donald Trump takes office with promises of hardline immigration policies.

Biden’s administration has strongly supported Temporary Protected Status, which he has broadly expanded to cover about 1 million people. TPS faces an uncertain future under Trump, who tried to sharply curtail its use during his first term as president. Federal regulations would allow the extensions to be terminated early, although that’s never been done before.

Homeland Security also extended TPS for more than 103,000 Ukrainians and 1,900 Sudanese that are already living in the U.S.

For José Palma, a 48 year-old Salvadoran who has lived in the U.S. since 1998, the extension means that at least for now he can still work legally in Houston. He is the only person in his family with temporary status; his four children were born U.S. citizens and his wife is a permanent resident. If TPS was not extended he could be deported and separated from the rest of the family.

“It brings me peace of mind, a breath of fresh air,” Palma said. “It offers me stability”.

Palma, who works as an organizer at a day laborer organization, sends about $400 a month to his 73-year-old mother, who is retired and does not have any income.

The TPS designation gives people legal authority to be in the country but it doesn’t provide them a long-term path to citizenship. They are reliant on the government renewing their status when it expires. Conservative critics have said that over time, the renewal of the protection status becomes automatic, regardless of what is happening in the person’s home country.

Friday's announcement, which came as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro took office for a third six-year term in Caracas amid widespread international condemnation, is “based on the severe humanitarian emergency the country continues to face due to political and economic crises under the Maduro regime,” the department said.

Homeland Security cited "environmental conditions in El Salvador that prevent individuals from returning,” specifically heavy rains and storms in the last two years.

Congress created TPS in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters or civil strife, giving people authorization to work in increments of up to 18 months at a time.

Venezuelan Victor Macedo holds his daughter Sonia at their home, in in Davie, Fla., Sept. 27, 2023. The family crossed the border U.S. almost two years ago. Since then, they have been living in South Florida with the support of family and friends. They recently qualified for temporary protected status. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

About 1 million immigrants from 17 countries are protected by TPS, including people from Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Sudan, Ukraine and Lebanon. Venezuelans are one of the largest beneficiaries and their extension runs from April 2025 to Oct. 2, 2026.

Salvadorans won TPS in 2001 after earthquakes rocked the Central American country. TPS for Salvadorans was to expire in March and was extended until Sept. 9, 2026.

Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, suggested they would scale back the use of TPS and policies granting temporary status as they pursue mass deportations. During his first administration, Trump ended TPS for El Salvador but was held up in court.

In recent months, advocates have increased pressure on the Biden administration to ask for TPS extensions for those who already have it, and to protect people from other countries like Guatemala and Ecuador.

“This extension is just a small victory,” said Felipe Arnoldo Díaz, an activist with the National TPS Alliance. “Our biggest concern is that after El Salvador, there are countries whose TPS are expiring soon and are being left out" like Nepal, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

Victor Macedo, a 40-year-old Venezuelan, arrived to the U.S. in 2021 after receiving death threats back home for being an activist with the political opposition. He couldn't believe the news about the extension, as his TPS was set to expire in April.

“It is a very big relief. I was afraid,” said Macedo, who works remodeling houses in Davie, Florida. “TPS helps me have legal status, work, and be able to drive.”

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Associated Press writers Marcos Alemán in San Salvador, El Salvador, and Rebecca Santana, in Washington, contributed to this report.

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