LatinNews Daily - 21 September 2020

Central America: On 14 September a US appeals court upheld the decision by the US government led by President Donald Trump to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Salvadorean, Haitian, and Nicaraguan nationals, among others. This status is assigned by the US Department of Homeland Security to nationals from countries beset by conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. It enables them to remain in the US and seek employment for an initial period of six to 18 months, which can then be reviewed and renewed. TPS status has been granted to some 300,000 immigrants and their families, allowing them to live in the US for decades. But the Trump administration declared the termination of the scheme, which prompted some TPS beneficiaries to file a legal appeal against the move. In a split vote, the ruling panel in the appeals court voted to vacate a preliminary injunction lodged in October 2018 that prevented the Trump administration from terminating the TPS scheme. The judges ruled that the initial decision by the Trump administration was not reviewable, and could not be overturned. Provided the ruling is upheld by higher courts, TPS beneficiaries will now be forced to leave the US after an initial grace period. The ruling is also expected to affect the status of Honduran TPS beneficiaries, who filed a separate complaint that was suspended last year, pending the outcome of the broader case.

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