By EFE
Jun 22, 2024, 1:15 PM EDT
The Government of Honduras thanked the United States for the new renewal of work permits for thousands of Hondurans covered by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) until March 2025, an official source reported this Friday.
“We thank the Joe Biden Administration and the people of the United States for the extension of work permits for TPS beneficiaries,” said the Foreign Minister of Honduras, Eduardo Enrique Reina, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Chancellery).
He highlighted the importance of renewing the work permit for thousands of immigrants from Honduras to strengthen “the ties” between both countries and provide “significant opportunities” to Hondurans who contribute positively to the economy and society of the United States.
More than a million Hondurans live in the United States, most of them irregularly.
The announcement by the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will benefit more than 300,000 immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua who have immigration relief, which also includes immigrants from Nepal and Sudan who benefit from the aid.
The United States Government has the power to grant TPS to immigrants from countries that suffer an armed conflict, a natural disaster or some extraordinary circumstance that does not allow them to return to their homes.
In the case of Honduras, the migration crisis worsened after the devastating Hurricane Mitch, at the end of 1998, which pushed some 100,000 Hondurans towards the United States, of which a high percentage was favored by a Temporary Protected Status (TPS). ) which has been renewed every 18 months.
After Mitch, a high unemployment rate, low wages and gang violence multiplied this migration to North America and Europe, to which was added in 2018 the phenomenon of migrant caravans.
The Donald Trump Administration attempted to withdraw TPS for several nationalities, including those whose permission was extended this Thursday, which provoked a series of lawsuits by organizations in defense of migrants and managed to maintain the protection.
USCIS reminded beneficiaries who have not yet renewed the protection that they can still do so.
He specified that, although the re-registration periods end on different dates depending on the country, all work permits are extended until the same date: March 9, 2025.
Keep reading:
- Immigrant couple fears that Republicans will tear down Biden’s program that favors them
- Government of Mexico celebrates new immigration regularization plan in the United States
- More than five thousand people wait for Guatemala to accept them as refugees