A memo from the Biden White House, uncovered in the final days of the administration, revealed plans to expand Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to more than 3 million noncitizens. The memo acknowledged that prior court challenges had blocked many of former President Donald Trump’s attempts to end TPS protections.

TPS is designed to shield foreign nationals from deportation when their home countries face crises such as political unrest or natural disasters. Although the Trump administration sought to terminate TPS for groups including Haitians, Nepalese, Salvadorans, and Sudanese, lawsuits from migrant advocacy groups largely prevented these efforts.

The memo, obtained by Senator Eric Schmitt through his role as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, detailed that stakeholders believed granting TPS would protect many vulnerable individuals from President-elect Trump's planned deportations. It also noted that previous legal challenges had succeeded in halting TPS terminations due to the administration's failure to provide sufficient factual support, a shortcoming that could be addressed.

A chart within the memo estimated new TPS eligibility for approximately 1.5 million Guatemalans, 600,000 Ecuadorians, 464,000 Nicaraguans, 455,000 Venezuelans, and smaller groups from Ukraine, Sudan, and Afghanistan, totaling over 3.1 million people.

Schmitt criticized the plan, stating, "Biden tried to turn TPS into a 3.1-million-person deportation shield, protect Tren de Aragua members, and trap President Trump in years of litigation," adding that the move betrayed the "will of the people" who had voted out liberal Democrats in the prior election.

He also noted that one week after the January 2025 memo—erroneously dated 2024—Biden extended TPS protections to nearly 1 million noncitizens, describing it as a "concrete, mass-migration action."

The memo highlights ongoing tensions over immigration policy and the legal battles surrounding TPS protections.

Sources