The US government has extended work permits for hundreds of thousands of immigrants holding temporary protected status (TPS) from Haiti and six other countries, narrowly avoiding the expiration of these authorizations. The extension was announced by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, just hours before the permits were set to lapse.

Under the new schedule, work permits for Haitians with TPS will now remain valid until July 24, while permits for recipients from Ethiopia, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan, and Myanmar will expire one week later. These extensions come in the wake of a recent US Supreme Court ruling that allowed the Trump administration to terminate TPS designations for Haitians and Syrians, a decision that has raised concerns among immigrant rights advocates and affected communities.

Temporary protected status grants individuals already residing in the United States the ability to stay and work legally when their home countries experience natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other extraordinary conditions. The Supreme Court’s ruling, while affirming the administration’s authority to end TPS, has prompted fears that hundreds of thousands of people could lose both their work authorization and protection from deportation.

Labor organizations and community groups urged the administration to maintain the work permits, warning that revoking them abruptly could cause significant disruptions in workplaces across multiple industries. These groups argue that the loss of TPS holders would create “chaos” in sectors reliant on their labor.

The Trump administration has pursued a rigorous immigration enforcement agenda, characterized by increased deportation efforts and stricter immigration policies. Human rights organizations have criticized these measures, citing violations of free speech and due process rights and highlighting the increased vulnerability of ethnic minorities to racial profiling and unsafe conditions.

While advocating for enhanced border security and a reduction in illegal immigration during his 2024 campaign, President Trump’s administration has simultaneously applied additional restrictions to legal immigration channels. These include higher fees for certain visa applications and mandatory social media screenings of applicants and current immigrants. The administration defends these policies as necessary steps to bolster national security and safeguard employment opportunities for US citizens.