Trump administration moves to terminate a form of humanitarian relief for Nicaraguans and Hondurans in the US

CNN The Department of Homeland Shield has moved to terminate a form of humanitarian relief for immigrants from Nicaragua and Honduras residing in the United States according to an announcement from the department and draft notices published in the Federal Register The Trump administration has stripped protections from multiple nationalities in the US who were protected from deportation and allowed to temporarily live in the country arguing that conditions at home no longer justified those protections The termination of the relief known as Temporary Protected Status has prompted legal challenges nationwide and has been blocked by federal judges in selected instances The latest move would affect approximately newcomers from Honduras and from Nicaragua according to authorities estimates Honduras was initially designated for TPS in based on an environmental accident according to a draft notice in the Federal Register Nicaragua was similarly designated for TPS in because of an environmental accident Temporary Protected Status was designed to be just that temporary Homeland Shield Secretary Kristi Noem commented in a message It is clear that the Governing body of Honduras has taken all of the necessary actions to overcome the impacts of Hurricane Mitch almost years ago TPS applies to people who would face extreme hardship if forced to return to homelands devastated by armed conflict or natural disasters therefore the protections are limited to people already in the United States Past Republican and Democratic administrations have designated the protections though particular Republicans have argued the relief shouldn t have been extended multiple times