Catholic bishops warned that uncertainty over immigration protections for Ukrainians and Salvadorans could result in deportations and family disruption if temporary protected status (TPS) lapses.
On Oct. 19, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted an alert saying Ukrainian TPS beneficiaries would continue to retain protections, including employment authorization, pending an announcement “made at the appropriate time.” The agency posted a similar announcement about El Salvador TPS as a Sept. 9 expiration deadline passed.
TPS is an immigration status granted to eligible foreign nationals from designated countries that are deemed unsafe to return to due to ongoing conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.
U.S. bishops said with more than 170,000 Salvadorans and about 100,000 Ukrainians estimated to hold TPS, the administration should “carefully consider conditions in countries of origin and the threats to human life that could come with forcibly repatriating people.” The bishops urged the government to provide meaningful notice about the future of the designations so that families, employers, and communities can plan accordingly, a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) statement said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which determines whether to extend or end TPS, said in a statement to EWTN News on Oct. 22 that Ukrainians and Salvadorans with TPS will “retain protection” under the program until the agency announces a final decision on the future of the designations.
El Salvador first received TPS in 2001 after devastating earthquakes, and the designation has been repeatedly renewed since then. The U.S. first granted TPS to Ukrainians in April 2022, after Russiaʼs full-scale invasion starting Feb. 24, 2022, made conditions unsafe for many Ukrainians to return home. The United Nations has verified more than 13,000 civilian deaths in Ukraine, while warning the actual toll is likely much higher.
Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, chair-elect of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, said many Ukrainians relying on TPS in the United States have no home to go back to, according to the USCCB update.
“In recent months, DHS terminated TPS designations for various countries, often while existing conditions in those countries make return of large numbers of people unsafe or impractical,” according to a USCCB statement on Sept. 24.
The Trump administration has moved to end TPS for people from more than a dozen countries since 2025, and Lebanon TPS is set to end Nov. 27. TPS for Haiti ended July 27.
Pathway to legal status
U.S. bishops have continued to support legislative efforts “to provide a pathway to permanent legal status for longtime residents of the United States.” Bishops have supported legislation such as H.R. 1589 that would provide a pathway to permanent residency for certain “dreamers” (those brought to the U.S. illegally as children by family) and other immigrants with temporary protections while expanding access to green cards for some TPS and Deferred Enforced Departure recipients.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, “would create a long-term solution for those in this situation who have contributed positively to the fabric of American life and have established equities in the country, such as having U.S.-citizen spouses and children, owning businesses, and more,” the USCCB statement said.
Another bill (H.R. 10740) introduced in the U.S. House on Oct. 5 would extend temporary protected status for eligible Ukrainians by redesignating protections until July 1, 2029.
In April, the House passed legislation, H.R. 1689, that would extend TPS for Haitians for three more years. No legislative efforts have gained traction in the Senate.
‘In limbo’
Without any formal notice from DHS about the status of El Salvador’s TPS, it has left communities “in limbo,” said Lizbeth Iniguez, immigration attorney at Alba Law in Long Beach, California.
“At the moment, we hear a lot of fear, especially in the Salvadoran community … we can only tell them how to prepare,” Iniguez said.
David Spicer, USCCB’s policy and engagement director, said Catholic Charities and other Church ministries are seeing growing demand as families lose legal protections and work authorization.
“They’re seeing people having to grapple with the loss of the legal protection, their work authorization, families struggling to make ends meet. Then more people turn to Catholic services for things like food and housing assistance,” Spicer said.
Uncertainty about TPS status could expose longtime U.S. residents to deportation, family separation, and the loss of work authorization, according to U.S. bishops.
“I think Haiti is probably the most serious example of this. It is objectively unsafe for large numbers of people to be forcibly repatriated to Haiti at this time,” Spicer said. “When you consider that this is also a factor in several other countries where they are no longer TPS designations … it really does set up the opportunity, if not the loss of human life, then the harm that could be inflicted on the people.”
Spicer said the TPS uncertainty also was “going to hurt employers … they’re having an even harder time because they’ve lost workers who were relying on employment authorization that they had through TPS.”
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