The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Monday, 19 October, that Ukrainian and Sudanese holders of temporary protected status (TPS) keep their protection, although it was set to run out that same day. In a written statement, the department said an announcement on their status will be made at an appropriate time, without giving a date. Until then, people covered by the temporary measures keep their protection. The DHS also gave no timeline for how long they may stay, and it gave no answer on whether work permits survive the decision, although TPS generally lets holders work while protection is in force. The reprieve comes about two weeks before US midterm elections, where the immigration crackdown has become a flashpoint.
The number of people affected is reported differently across sources, so the figures are best kept separate. US authorities say about 240,000 Ukrainians registered for TPS after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Separately, roughly 101,000 Ukrainians had their status due to end on Monday. The figure for Sudanese TPS holders varies, with one report putting it at 1,800 while The Independent estimates 6,800. Ukraine was first added to the program in April 2022, after the invasion.
Data from the article text
Congress created TPS in 1990 to shield people from deportation to countries hit by natural disasters or civil strife. El Salvador was first granted the status after two devastating earthquakes in 2001, and the Biden administration extended it for 18 months to 9 September 2026. In September, the Trump administration allowed Salvadoran holders to keep their protection, but earlier it moved to end TPS for Haitians, Venezuelans, Somalis, Yemenis, Syrians and others. Overall, the administration has ended protection for more than one million people across 13 countries.
The decision lands amid a worsening relationship between the Trump administration and Ukraine. Trump has declined to toughen sanctions on Russia over the four-year-old war, and he lifted sanctions on Moscow's diesel exports. Late on Friday, 16 October, he used executive powers to block a set of tough new sanctions he had earlier endorsed, saying the move served US national interests. Asked by Deutsche Welle before leaving the White House, Trump said he would certainly consider letting Ukrainian TPS holders stay until the war ends.
Yuriy Boyechko, chief executive of Hope For Ukraine, a nonprofit that offers humanitarian aid in Ukraine and resettlement support in the US, called the move a last-minute fix that leaves the underlying problem untouched. He said Ukrainians cannot safely return home and called for a permanent route to residency.
“It's time for US to come up with some normal path to permanent residency for all these people”
Andrew Arthur, an immigration specialist at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that backs lower immigration levels, expects the government to decide eventually but sees no deadline forcing it. He argued that the arrangement amounts to a temporary extension.
“It's simply going to be an extension until it is a termination”
Arthur added that both Sudan and Ukraine are in ongoing armed conflict, so the department's leadership has authority to keep TPS in place for each.
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The Department of Homeland Security said Ukrainian and Sudanese holders of temporary protected status keep their protection, even though it was due to expire on Monday, 19 October, and it set no end date for the reprieve.
AI text based on reports by Ziare.com, Deutsche Welle, Notícias ao Minuto and other publishers. Published .