“Temporary Protected Status was never meant to last forever, the Trump administration says, as it urges hundreds of thousands of migrants to either secure permanent legal status or prepare to return home.”
The Trump administration has told migrants living in the United States under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that they should either apply for permanent legal residency if they qualify or leave the country.
The message came from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the administration to end TPS protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants.
TPS is a humanitarian program that allows people from countries affected by war, natural disasters, or other extraordinary crises to live and work legally in the United States for a limited period. Haitians have been protected under the program since the devastating 2010 earthquake, while Syrians have been covered since the civil war erupted in 2012.
Mullin said those protections were always intended to be temporary.
“If they’re here under TPS, then they need to either seek permanent residency or they need to return to their home country,” he said.
The administration is also offering financial assistance to migrants who choose to leave voluntarily.
According to Mullin, eligible migrants can receive a plane ticket home along with $2,100 in financial support to help with their return. He said the administration wants people to use legal immigration pathways if they wish to remain in the United States permanently.
The policy has quickly drawn criticism.
Opponents point out that the U.S. State Department continues to advise Americans not to travel to countries such as Haiti and Syria because of widespread violence, armed conflict, and severe instability. They argue that sending migrants back under those conditions raises serious humanitarian concerns.
The administration insists the program cannot continue indefinitely.
Mullin argued that many TPS recipients have had years to pursue other forms of legal status and said the federal government cannot keep extending temporary protections without end.
Not everyone in Trump’s own party agrees.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, has urged the administration to reconsider ending TPS for Haitians. He warned that many have become important members of their communities and workforce, particularly in healthcare, and said removing them could hurt local economies while forcing people to return to dangerous conditions.
Immigration advocates have also criticized the decision, arguing that many TPS holders have built lives in the United States over more than a decade, raising families, buying homes, and contributing to their communities. They say returning them to countries still facing conflict or instability would create unnecessary hardship.
For the Trump administration, however, the position remains unchanged.
Officials say Temporary Protected Status is exactly what its name suggests: temporary. Those who qualify for permanent residency are encouraged to apply, while those who do not are being told it is time to return home, either voluntarily with government assistance or through immigration enforcement if they remain after their protections expire.
