We have a new Temporary Protective Status (TPS) update to share.On July 31st, a federal judge in California blocked the Trump administration's effort to strip TPS protections for nationals from Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua.
As a refresher TPS is a protection that can be granted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to people of certain nationalities who are in the United States, preventing from being deported to their home countries due to unsafe conditions marked by natural disasters, political instability or other dangerous conditions.
What does this mean for Employers?
The U.S. District judge's ruling, for now, halts the expiration date of August 5th for Nepali nationals and halts the termination date of September 8th for Nicaraguan and Honduran nationals. The U.S. District Judge did not set new expiration dates, but rather ruled to keep TPS protections in place while the case is still pending. The next hearing on the matter will be November 18th.
To further complicate matters, we are also not sure how the U.S. District Court in California's ruling will play out given the recent U.S. Supreme Court's decision about the ability of lower Federal Courts to issue injunction orders against the Trump administration's actions and whether that extends to DHS as well.
What does this mean for TPS Nepali, Honduran and Nicaraguan Nationals?
This ruling provides some temporary relief for Nepali, Nicaraguan and Honduran workers on TPS, because as of now, the expiration date for TPS is extended until further rulings from the U.S. District Court. However, this ruling still does not alleviate the uncertainty of their TPS status, given the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling combined with the Trump administration's ongoing work to curtail TPS protections for many countries' citizens.
We understand that the uncertainty of the TPS program for Nepali, Nicaraguan and Honduran nationals is very concerning for both workers and employers. We will continue to keep you informed with further developments concerning TPS. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Thank you,
Keith and the Pabian Law Team
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