DHS Keeps Ukrainians' and Sudanese Deportation Shield in Place as Deadline Hits
Temporary Protected Status for tens of thousands of Ukrainians and hundreds of Sudanese was set to end Monday, but the department says enrolled immigrants will "retain protection" until a final decision.
Immigrants from Ukraine and Sudan enrolled in Temporary Protected Status will be able to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation for now, even though their protections were set to expire soon, the Department of Homeland Security told CBS News on Sunday.
The TPS protections of tens of thousands of Ukrainians and hundreds of Sudanese were officially slated to terminate on Monday. In statements Sunday, DHS said final decisions on the fate of the humanitarian immigration programs will "be made at the appropriate time." Until those decisions are announced, the department said, nationals of Ukraine and Sudan enrolled in the program will "retain protection."
The move stands in sharp contrast to the Trump administration's broader posture toward TPS. Administration officials have routinely denounced the program as a de facto amnesty policy abused by the Biden administration, one they say encourages illegal immigration and has been extended too often despite its temporary nature. Over the past year and a half, as part of its immigration crackdown, the administration has revoked TPS protections for more than 1 million immigrants from over a dozen countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti and Venezuela.
The Ukrainian and Sudanese programs are among a handful of TPS policies that have survived nearly two years into President Trump's second term. The program for immigrants from El Salvador, which covers tens of thousands of people, is also among them. That program was set to lapse last month, but DHS kept its protections in place pending a final announcement.
Congress created TPS in 1990. It lets the government offer a temporary reprieve from deportation and work permits to immigrants from countries facing armed conflict, an environmental disaster or another crisis that makes return unsafe. Those who qualify can be in the country legally or illegally.
The Biden administration first announced the policy for Ukrainians in the spring of 2022, soon after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. As of March 2025, more than 100,000 Ukrainians were enrolled, including people allowed into the country under a Biden-era sponsorship policy. The Sudan program dates to the late 1990s, with administrations of both parties extending it because of armed conflict and political turmoil in that country. As of March 2025, roughly 1,800 Sudanese nationals had TPS.
DHS has not said when it will announce final decisions or what they will be. For now the department's statement means the Monday termination date will pass without enrolled Ukrainians and Sudanese losing their protection, leaving them in a legal holding pattern with no deadline attached.
