Migrants Go On Hunger Strike To Pressure Biden To Extend Temporary Protected Status

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders have launched a hunger strike hoping it will lead President Joe Biden to extend their protections before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. TPS, a program established under President George H.W. Bush, allows migrants from countries designated as unsafe live and work legally in the U.S. for a limited period of time without offering a path to citizenship.

With protections for countries like El Salvador, Venezuela, and Haiti set to expire in 2025, many TPS recipients are fearing deportation under President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to revoke the program. Trump previously attempted to terminate TPS for migrants from six countries, but the efforts were blocked in court.

Under Biden's administration, the United States saw a significant expansion of TPS to approximately 1.7 million potential new beneficiaries, including designations for Venezuela, Haiti, and other nations. The September 2023 designation for 472,000 Venezuelans marked a historic high, according to a Migration Policy Institute study.

As of March 2024, about 864,000 individuals were protected under TPS, including 350,000 Venezuelans, 200,000 Haitians, and 180,000 Salvadorans. Florida has the largest number of TPS holders, with around 300,000, followed by Texas, California, and New York. Protections for Salvadorans are among the first set to expire in March unless extended.

Immigration advocates, including the National TPS Alliance, are seeking to ramp up pressure on Biden to take action before leaving office. Their efforts include hunger strikes and lobbying Congress to support TPS extensions. In a Dec. 9 letter, a group of senators, including Dick Durbin and Cory Booker, urged Biden to redesignate TPS for all eligible countries, citing worsening crises in nations like Ukraine and Nicaragua.

Mardoel Hernandez, a Honduran immigrant living in the U.S. for over 20 years, is one of the TPS holders who has joined the hunger strike. The strike, organized by the National TPS Alliance, seeks to draw attention to what participants describe as a desperate situation.

Advocates warn that ending the program could separate families, including U.S.-born children, from their parents. Immigration attorney Haim Vasquez in Texas recommended that TPS holders consult legal counsel to explore permanent residency options. "If there's anything that can be done, they must do it sooner than later," Vasquez told CBS News. He said that Biden must announce any extensions by Jan. 9 to protect Salvadorans.