Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen announced an extension of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudan. After reviewing conditions with interagency partners, Nielsen said the ongoing armed conflict and other extraordinary conditions in South Sudan warrant an extension. The current 84 beneficiaries from South Sudan are eligible to re-register for a TPS extension through November 2, 2020.
The Administration is under pressure from some in Congress to designate TPS for Venezuela, a country seemingly is on the verge of revolution. Somewhere between two and three million Venezuelans have left the country thus far over its dire economic conditions. Some Senators like Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) have asked the president to take action while introducing legislation to mandate it if he does not. The Center for Immigration Studies argues that Venezuela should not be granted status due to a number of reasons, most importantly that the U.S. already faces a crisis on the southern border.
Several Administrations have been criticized for renewing TPS continually even when conditions change in designated countries. The Trump Administration had terminated TPS for Sudan, El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua last year but a district judge ordered the Administration to reinstate status while a related lawsuit plays out in court. Last week the Administration announced that extension. House Democrats plan to introduce a new version of the DREAM Act next Tuesday that reportedly will extend TPS in countries where the president terminated status.
