Activists and residents with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) march close to the White House for residency protections in Washington D.C. in September.

Olivier Douliery /AFP by way of Getty Images

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Olivier Douliery /AFP by way of Getty Images

Activists and residents with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) march close to the White House for residency protections in Washington D.C. in September.

Olivier Douliery /AFP by way of Getty Images

For the previous 4 years, Elsy Flores de Ayala has lived in limbo — not sure whether or not the life she constructed within the U.S. would keep intact or if she could be deported again to El Salvador.

Flores de Ayala, who lives in Washington D.C., has been allowed to legally dwell and work within the U.S. for over 20 years beneath the Temporary Protected Status program which deemed her native nation unsafe to return.

This winter, her keep was prone to expiring after the Trump administration sought to revoke this system for immigrants from six international locations — El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras and Nepal — by arguing that conditions in these nations have improved sufficient for folks to return.

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that this system would proceed for Flores de Ayala and over 335,000 others by June 2024 amid an ongoing federal lawsuit aiming to reverse President Trump’s ruling.

“This is a little bit of protection for us,” Flores de Ayala advised NPR. “At least now we are going to have a good holiday and we have more time.”

The criticism filed by the ACLU, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and others is at the moment within the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of appeals with a request to be reheard. The Biden administration has formally re-designated protections for Haiti and Sudan however the 4 different international locations included within the lawsuit — El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Nepal — have solely acquired an extension due to the lawsuit.

What is momentary protected standing?

In 1990, this system was created to assist immigrants who’re unable to return to their residence international locations safely on account of a humanitarian disaster comparable to armed battle or a pure catastrophe.

It applies to folks already residing within the U.S., stopping them from being deported and issuing them work permits.

Sixteen international locations are at the moment designated for TPS and such protections are usually reviewed for renewal by the Department of Homeland Security each 18 months. As of 2021, over 400,000 immigrants have protected standing. The largest populations residing in California, Florida, Texas and New York.

Many recipients have lived within the U.S. for many years due to how usually these protections have been prolonged, however this system itself shouldn’t be a direct pathway to turning into a U.S. citizen.

“Many of them have lived here longer than they’ve lived in the country that they were born in but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a path to seek citizenship,” mentioned Emi MacLean, a senior workers legal professional on the ACLU of Northern California. “That’s a failure of our immigration laws.”

Flores de Ayala was visiting household within the U.S. when El Salvador was devastated by a large earthquake in 2001. Since turning into a TPS holder, Flores de Ayala mentioned she constructed a life that she’s happy with.

“We have worked here for decades, built our communities here and dedicated our time to our children’s schools,” she mentioned. “This is more our home than anywhere else.”