SILVER SPRING, Maryland — CLINIC commends the Department of Homeland Security’s announcements today that it is extending and redesignating Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for South Sudan and newly designating TPS for Sudan. These announcements provide life-saving protection from deportation for South Sudanese and Sudanese nationals already in the United States as well as access to work permits.

“We are grateful to the administration for these critically-needed TPS decisions,” said Anna Gallagher, CLINIC’s executive director. “The last cut off dates for people to qualify for TPS for South Sudan were in 2016 and for Sudan, 2013. With conflict and humanitarian disaster deeply affecting both countries, these decisions are correct under the law and our values as Americans to offer safe haven, welcome and protection to those in greatest need.”

CLINIC commends the leadership of our Black immigrant-led partners African Communities Together, UndocuBlack Network, Haitian Bridge Alliance and others in securing these protections. CLINIC recently joined them and 150 other NGOs in a letter to the Biden administration calling for maximum TPS protection for South Sudan. 

Lisa Parisio, advocacy director at CLINIC said: “TPS for Black-majority countries can be particularly crucial in meeting the Congressional intent of TPS to save lives. As a protection for all nationals of a country, as opposed to a case-by-case determination, TPS can serve as a safety net, saving the lives of people who slip through cracks in our asylum system, including due to systemic racism.”

CLINIC particularly applauds DHS for announcing it will publish the decision on South Sudan in the Federal Register tomorrow, March 3, when the decision is due under law. “Delays in publishing official TPS decisions in the Federal Register under the previous and current administrations have had serious consequences for the people these announcements intend to benefit,” said Parisio. “Late Federal Register Notices, compounded by processing delays at USCIS, can leave people without access to the documents they need to work, obtain drivers' licenses, and other basic needs of daily life. We are glad to see this announcement for South Sudan in the Federal Register and hope to see more timely notices in the future.” 

While CLINIC celebrates the decisions announced today, we call on the administration to use TPS more broadly and boldly by granting immediate designations for Cameroon, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Afghanistan and other countries in crisis.