Immigrants Brace for End of Temporary Protected Status
On Monday, 60,000 Hondurans and Nicaraguans could find out if they'll be allowed to remain in the U.S. under a federal designation known as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.
Their prospects may be dim.
Last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent a letter to acting Homeland Security secretary Elaine Duke, according to the Washington Post, arguing that conditions in Central America and Haiti were stable enough for TPS recipients to return to their respective homelands.
This is a population, more than 300,000 overall (plus an estimated 275,000 children), that's lived in the U.S. legally for a long time.Â
Experts say TPS recipients contribute $2.5 billion in annual GDP to New York and New Jersey.
Perla Canales, a TPS recipient since 1999 when Honduras was hit by Hurricane Mitch, said she's terrified she'll lose her job cleaning a mall on Staten Island, and be deported.
"If I don't have TPS, my job, my benefits, I lose everything," she said. "My family, too. I take care of my family. My mom, my brother."
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