The Trump administration has ended protections for immigrants from 4 countries — here’s when they will have to leave the US

Immigrants from 10 countries currently receive temporary protected status (TPS), which allows them to live and work legally in the US.
The Trump administration has recently announced plans to terminate TPS for 4 of those countries.
Here's when they are expected to end.

During a bipartisan meeting on immigration Thursday, President Donald Trump criticized protections the US gives to immigrants from various underdeveloped countries, including Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries.

The president's comments come days after the Trump administration announced that it would end temporary protection status (TPS) granted to nearly 262,000 Salvadorans, forcing them to leave the US or face deportation unless they're able to get a visa or permit to allow them to continue living in the country legally.

The program's termination was delayed by 18 months to give those affected sufficient time to arrange plans.

Since President George H.W. Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990 into law, the US government has allowed immigrants from certain countries affected by armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary conditions to reside and work legally in the US until it is safe for them to return home.

In recent months, the Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will end TPS for four countries, including El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan, at various upcoming dates.

Immigrants from six other countries currently receive TPS, but it is unclear whether the Trump administration plans to end their protections.

Here's when each group's protected status will end:

Sudan: November 2, 2018

In September, then acting DHS secretary Elaine Duke decided to end TPS for Sudan, citing improved conditions in the country.

About 1,050 people benefit from TPS. Sudan was first added in 1999 based on security concerns amid ongoing violence in that country.

Nicaragua: January 5, 2019

TPS for roughly 5,300 Nicaraguans expired on January 5, but the program won't officially end until early 2019 since the T rump administration delayedits termination by 12 months.

The DHS first granted temporary residency to Nicaraguans in 1999 following the devastation wreaked throughout Central America by Hurricane Mitch.

Haiti: July 22, 2019

In November, the DHS announced it would end TPS for nearly 59,000 Haitian immigrants after they were allowed to stay in the US following a massive earthquake in their home country that killed at least 100,000 people in 2010.

As part of the move, DHS allowed an 18-month window for those affected to prepare to leave the country or apply for extended residency.

El Salvador: September 9, 2019

Salvadorans were first granted temporary residency protections in 1990 amid El Salvador's brutal civil war. The program expired in 1994, but seven years later, President George W. Bush allowed as many as 150,000 Salvadorans to stay in the US legally following deadly earthquakes that ravaged most of El Salvador.

The program was continuously extended by Presidents Bush and Barack Obama until the Trump administration announced this week that it would give Salvadorans 18 months to figure out what to do.

Other countries

Immigrants from six other countries are currently eligible for TPS. In the coming months, these special protections are expected to run out, at which point the Trump administration will likely determine whether to terminate or extend them.

Here is how long TPS will last for the 6 eligible countries:

Syria: Honduras: July 5, 2018Somalia Sept. 17, 2018Yemen September 3, 2018 South Sudan May 2, 2019

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen must decide whether to terminate TPS for a country at least 60 days before it is set to expire. If no determination is made, that country's TPS is automatically extended for six months.

The Trump administration has ended protections for immigrants from 4 countries — here’s when they will have to leave the US

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