Ukrainian and Sudanese migrants retain US deportation protections for now
The Department of Homeland Security says Temporary Protected Status holders remain protected after an October 19 expiry date, but has given no timetable for a final decision.
Ukrainian and Sudanese migrants covered by US Temporary Protected Status retained protection from deportation on Monday, October 19, when their status had been due to expire. The Department of Homeland Security said they would remain protected while it considers a further announcement, leaving affected households and employers without a date for a final decision.
About 101,000 Ukrainians and 1,800 Sudanese had protections scheduled to end that day, according to the Associated Press. DHS said an announcement would be made ‘at the appropriate time’, but did not specify how long the continued protection would last.
Who is covered by the TPS reprieve
Temporary Protected Status allows eligible people already in the United States to stay when armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions affect their home countries. It generally allows them to work legally, Reuters reported. DHS did not clarify whether work permits continue during this particular reprieve, according to the AP.
Reuters gave broader estimates of about 240,000 Ukrainians registered for TPS and 6,800 Sudanese TPS holders in the United States. Those figures describe the wider groups, rather than the AP’s counts of people whose protections were scheduled to expire on October 19.
Ukraine received a TPS designation in April 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion. The Biden administration extended that designation in January 2025 through October 2026, the AP reported. Sudan’s designation dates to 1997 and has been extended by successive administrations amid conflict and political instability.
Calls for a formal decision
Global Refuge, a refugee-focused nonprofit, welcomed the temporary continuation but called for a formal decision to give TPS holders, their dependants and employers more certainty, Reuters reported. The move follows a similar continuation for Salvadoran TPS holders in September.
Yuriy Boyechko, chief executive of Hope For Ukraine, described the announcement as a ‘bandage’ and said Ukrainians could not safely return home, according to the AP report published by The Guardian. Andrew Arthur of the Center for Immigration Studies told the AP that the government faced no deadline for its eventual decision; he expected protections to remain in place until it made one.
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Sources and context
- US grants deportation reprieve to migrants from Ukraine and SudanThe Guardian, reporting by the Associated Press
- US says immigrants from Ukraine, Sudan can keep protected status for nowReuters, republished by The Straits Times
- Homeland Security grants temporary deportation reprieve for more than 100,000 Ukrainians and SudanesePBS NewsHour, reporting by the Associated Press
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.