Immigrants from Nicaragua and Honduras who currently enjoy Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the US will learn by Monday 6 November whether that status will be extended. If the Department of Homeland Security does not extend the program for the two nations, thousands of immigrants from Honduras and Nicaragua will lose the permission to live and work legally in the country on 5 January 2018.
The TPS program has benefitted the two nations since 1999, following devastation by Hurricane Mitch. It resulted in the deaths of as many as 5657 people, and the displacement of over a million others in Honduras, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. 70 percent of infrastructure was also destroyed by the hurricane.
3045 people also lost their lives in Nicaragua, with another 885 reported as missing. The agency says whole villages were destroyed in floods and landslides. The agricultural sector, as well as sanitation and water facilities, educational, housing, and medical facilities, together with the transportation network, suffered extensive damage. TPS status for the two countries has been renewed several times, on the grounds that they had not fully recovered, and had indeed, suffered further environmental disasters.
The main argument for renewal this time is economic, according to the Miami-based immigration attorney, Stephanie Green. She says that the two nations have weak economies, placing them among the poorest countries in the region. But, there are signs that the Trump administration will adopt a harder line with TPS than before.