Explainer
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a critical humanitarian tool that protects foreign nationals residing in the United States from deportation when conditions in their home countries make it unsafe to return.
TPS has been making headlines as the Trump administration has moved forward in ending protections for people from Venezuela, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal and Haiti. These policy changes—and the legal challenges that follow—will affect hundreds of thousands of people who rely on TPS to remain safely and legally in the United States.
Get the facts on TPS and what it means for people who cannot return to their home countries due to safety concerns.
What is Temporary Protected Status (TPS)?
The U.S. Congress established TPS in 1990 as a protective immigration status for people from countries affected by ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, an epidemic, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions that make a safe return to their home countries impossible. For more than 30 years, TPS has enjoyed bipartisan support, with Democrat and Republican presidents alike using the program to protect vulnerable populations.
As of March 2024, more than 800,000 people in the U.S. were protected by TPS. Like refugees, TPS holders contribute significantly to the American economy. They fill essential jobs, and in many small towns, economies are being revitalized by their presence. TPS holders are valued members of American communities, schools, and workplaces—and the remittances they send to their home countries help relieve the root causes of migration.
Zahra (left) and Hadisa both fled Afghanistan in 2021. Now, they study at Arizona State University.
Photo: Nisha Datt for the IRC
To qualify for TPS, a person must already live in the U.S. Specifically, they must have been continuously physically present and residing in the U.S. before the date the status was designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This means that people who arrive in the U.S. after that date are not eligible. TPS can last between 6 to 18 months, and can be extended by DHS.
While TPS allows people to live and work legally in the U.S. throughout the duration of their status, it does not offer a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship.
How is TPS extended?
All TPS designations have an expiration date. DHS must review the conditions in countries with TPS designations and decide whether to extend or terminate these designations 60 days before the status expires. When TPS is extended, holders of the status must reapply for protection.
DHS can also decide to redesignate the status, allowing individuals who arrived in the U.S. after the prior designation date—but were already living in the U.S. before the redesignation—to apply for protection.
How have TPS protections changed under the Trump administration?
Between January and June 2025, the Trump administration has ended TPS protections for Venezuela, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal and Haiti.
Following a legal challenge, on March 31st, a federal court order blocked the revocation of TPS for Venezuela. The judge noted that the premature termination of TPS would cause significant harm not only to the Venezuelans who lose their status, but could result in a “3.5 billion dollar annual loss to the U.S. economy, and an annual loss of 434.8 million dollars in Social Security taxes.”
However, on May 19, 2025, the Supreme Court allowed for the early termination of TPS for Venezuela. This means that the group of Venezuelans who were protected under the 2023 TPS designation has now expired, though litigation continues in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals with oral arguments scheduled for July 2025.
On February 24, 2025, the Trump administration reversed the Biden administration’s July 2024 extension and redesignation of TPS for Haiti by shortening TPS protection for Haitians from 18 to 12 months. Later, on June 27, 2025, DHS announced the termination of TPS for Haiti but on July 1, 2025, a federal judge blocked its early termination. While litigation is ongoing, it is estimated that up to a half-million eligible Haitians in the US will lose their work authorization and legal status on September 2, 2025 if TPS for Haiti is terminated. Multiple lawsuits are also challenging the government's decision to reverse the redesignation.
On May 12, 2025, DHS Secretary Noem announced the termination of TPS for Afghanistan, which will go into effect on July 12, 2025. This means that more than 9,000 people could potentially lose their protection from deportation and authorization to work.
TPS protections for Cameroon and Nepal were also terminated in June affecting more than 7,000 people. Both Afghanistan and Cameroon are featured on the IRC's 2025 Emergency Watchlist of the world's most fragile humanitarian crises, underscoring the dangerous conditions these individuals would face if forced to return home.
How is TPS different from refugee resettlement?
TPS is a program for people already living in the United States. It is also temporary, meaning holders are not given a pathway to permanent status or citizenship.
Haitians qualifying for TPS have been allowed to stay in the U.S. since the 2010 earthquake.
Photo: Gerald Martone/IRC
Refugee resettlement helps those outside the U.S. who had to flee their countries due to persecution by allowing them to rebuild their lives in the U.S., with a pathway to lawful permanent resident status and eventually citizenship. Yet, fewer than one percent of refugees across the globe have a chance to resettle.
The Biden administration had taken steps to rebuild the refugee resettlement program after its decimation during the first Trump administration, including by setting an ambitious admissions goal of 125,000 for fiscal year 2025; however, the second Trump administration indefinitely paused all new refugee admissions on his first day in office.
Learn more about refugee resettlement.
How is TPS different from asylum?
TPS is applicable to people already in the U.S. before their country of origin received the TPS designation. In contrast, asylum seekers are individuals who flee their country and apply for asylum after arriving in the U.S. They must prove they cannot return due to persecution based on race, religion, nationality, social group membership or political opinion. Asylum seekers present their case to an asylum officer or in immigration court, and legal representation can significantly impact the outcome.
Once granted asylum, they become asylees, gain legal permanent protection from deportation, and can apply for permanent residency and citizenship. Asylees are also eligible to work, travel abroad, and bring their spouse or children under 21 to the U.S.
One of the key differences is that TPS only offers temporary protection for those needing safety. TPS holders who also qualify for asylum may still apply for asylum to secure permanent status.
Which countries have TPS designations?
As of July 1, 2025, seventeen countries currently have TPS designations, though several are set to expire throughout the year. They are Myanmar (Burma), El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. TPS for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal, Haiti and Venezuela will end throughout the summer of 2025.
A woman picks her way through the rubble of her war-ravaged village in northeastern Syria.
Photo: IRC
Venezuelans, Salvadorans and Haitians currently comprise the majority of TPS holders, totaling over 700,000 beneficiaries. DHS determined that Venezuela met the conditions for a TPS designation in 2021, as the country’s humanitarian crisis deepened, and continued this determination in 2023 and 2024. El Salvador received TPS following two devastating earthquakes in 2001, with subsequent developments leading to its extension and re-designation for over 20 years. Haitians have been eligible for TPS since the catastrophic 2010 earthquake, and ongoing conditions have prompted continued extensions and re-designations.
An Afghan family who recently arrived in the U.S. Newly-arrived Afghans have to apply for permanent protection through the U.S. asylum system, which is already facing a backlog of cases.
Photo: Andrew Oberstadt for the IRC
How does the IRC help?
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) offers high-quality, low-cost immigration legal services and citizenship assistance in 24 cities across the United States. As part of our immigration programs, the IRC helps eligible individuals apply for and renew their TPS status, identifies whether TPS holders are eligible for other forms of humanitarian protection or immigration status, and assists with legal services where applicable.
The IRC also responds to the world’s most urgent humanitarian crises including in countries with TPS designations like Sudan and Ukraine. Founded at the call of Albert Einstein over 90 years ago, the IRC remains dedicated to helping people affected by crises to survive, recover and rebuild their lives.
We consistently earn top marks by charity watchdog groups for our efficient use of donor contributions and the effectiveness of our work.
Support our mission—help crisis-affected people survive, recover and rebuild their lives.
How you can help
People with TPS are contributing members of American communities, schools and workplaces. Ending TPS would harm mixed status families, communities and businesses while putting people who have TPS in legal limbo and danger. The IRC needs your support to continue to deliver our critical programs for people with TPS status and other at-risk groups in the U.S.
Learn more about how you can help the IRC continue our mission.
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