Trump Administration Responds to Judicial Extension of TPS for Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua
DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin warned that TPS is not a de facto asylum
The administration of President Donald Trump criticized this Friday the ruling of a federal judge that reinstated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, emphasizing that the benefit The immigration system was not conceived as a "de facto" asylum system.
A federal judge on Thursday extended the injunction that was due to end on August 5 for some 7,000 immigrants from Nepal, while on September 8 the benefit to live and work in the US was set to end for around 51,000 Hondurans and almost 3,000 Nicaraguans.
The immigrants protected by TPS had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleging that it ended the injunction, which protects them from deportation, due to "racial animus."
In that sense, DHS Undersecretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the cancellation of the injunction It responds to a mandate to "restore the integrity" of the immigration system and return to the original goal of TPS.
"TPS was never intended to be a de facto asylum system; However, this is how previous administrations have used it for decades, ” the official stressed.
McLaughlin also charged against Judge Trina Thompson, who ordered the extension of TPS for the three countries, saying the ruling is another example of how judges incite racism to divert attention from the facts.
She added that DHS will appeal the decision and take the legal battle to higher courts.
The Trump administration has canceled TPS for some 160,000 Ukrainians, 350,000 Venezuelans, and at least half a million Haitians, among other migrants.