WASHINGTON — Immigrant advocates introduced a report today, Pulling Back the Curtain: Analysis of New Government Data on Temporary Protected Status, containing brand new, state-by-state data on people living in the United States with Temporary Protected Status (TPS).  Nearly a year after advocates from the Temporary Protected Status Advocacy Working Group filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, followed by litigation from the National Immigration Project at the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG), Alianza Americas, the Catholic Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) and members of the National TPS Alliance, the government finally released records about to the Trump administration’s termination of TPS for hundreds of thousands of individuals.

The report may be found HERE and the underlying data received from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may be found HERE.

The report unveils novel, never before seen data, including:

• Age and gender demographics
• Proportion of individuals with work permits
• States where individuals reside, broken down by country
• Receipts, approvals, and denials of applications
• Class of admission for TPS holders (e.g. previous immigration status)
• Individuals who obtained green cards and U.S. citizenship

Lisa Parisio, Advocacy Attorney for Policy with CLINIC, stated: “This rare look into the lives of people with temporary status in the United States allows us to examine how TPS functions in a new way. The data confirms that over 90 percent of TPS holders are from El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti, and over half of all TPS holders reside in just four states: California, Florida, Texas, and New York. Nearly 82,000 people who had TPS now have green cards, and nearly 10,000 former TPS holders have become U.S. citizens. The report shows just how integrated current and former TPS holders are into every part of our nation. Consequently, the Temporary Protected Status Advocacy Working Group strongly urges the Biden administration to utilize TPS as boldly as possible and protect over two million immigrants.”

Yanira Arias, TPS holder from El Salvador and National Campaigns Manager at Alianza Americas, added: “As a TPS beneficiary, this report is very important tool because it provides a demographic, social and community profile of the deep roots that I and more than three hundred thousand people with TPS have in the United States. Having TPS for all these years allowed me to socially and economically integrate in the United States, giving me a more secure condition that allowed me to help my family back in El Salvador. As vital as having TPS has been for me, it is time for me and many other TPS recipients to be recognized as active contributors to the progress of this nation. I urge the U.S. Congress to amend the law to allow me to apply for a permanent residency visa now!”

Khaled Alrabe, Staff Attorney at the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, added: “This report provides not only never before seen data on TPS beneficiaries over the past two years, it also represents one more step in building a vital historical record of the prior administration’s TPS dismal practices. The Biden administration has a duty to correct past injustice in the administration of the TPS program and expand it as widely as possible to immigrants in need.”