Policy & Research/Report/News/Immigration/TPS

Temporary Protected Status
protects families while also boosting the U.S. economy

Newly updated analysis finds that TPS helps protect hundreds of thousands of families while also filling worker gaps in the U.S. workforce.

This report reflects estimates based on analysis as of 2024 and the Temporary Protected Status program as of March 2025. Estimates may be out of date due to subsequent changes to TPS designations and eligibility.

 

Temporary Protected Status provides significant protections for families, allowing them to improve their economic condition, keep their families together, and more fully participate in their local communities.

New FWD.us estimates, based on analysis of census and other government data, show more than a million individuals  living in the U.S. today are current Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, a form of immigration relief that provides work authorization and deportation protections for those whose home countries are very unsafe for return.  Current TPS holders live with more than  260,000 U.S. citizen children, and more than 320,000 U.S. citizen adults, and are contributing to their families and communities.

TPS holders are boosting the U.S. economy. An estimated  570,000 TPS holders are working in the U.S. labor force, including 95,000 in leisure and hospitality, 90,000 in construction, 85,000 in business services, 80,000 in wholesale and retail trade, and 70,000 in manufacturing. 

Since Congress established TPS more than three decades ago, TPS recipients have used the program’s work authorization to support themselves and to contribute enormously to the U.S. workforce and economy. For example: some 87% of TPS holders from El Salvador and 81% from Honduras—all of whom have lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years—participate in the labor force. These labor force participation rates of long-term TPS holders are considerably higher than the U.S. labor force overall (about 62%), and are on par with the U.S. labor force in their prime working years of 25 to 54 years old (about 83%). In all, TPS holders contribute about $21 billion annually to the U.S. economy, in addition to the payment of $5.2 billion in combined federal, payroll, state, and local taxes. 

Video Image

Evelyn's Story

Meet Evelyn, a TPS holder from El Salvador who has lived in California for three decades. She works as an organizer for Central American Resource Center in Los Angeles, where she advocates for a pathway to citizenship for immigrants like herself.

Current TPS designations are under severe scrutiny during the current Trump administration. For example, the administration has terminated the Venezuela (2023) designation, amended TPS for Haiti to an earlier end date, and has rescinded the Biden administration’s previous TPS extensions for Venezuela.

TPS provides lifesaving relief for those whose home countries are very unsafe

Congress established the Temporary Protected Status program as part of the Immigration Act of 1990. TPS is currently administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), under the Department of Homeland Security. 

Since TPS was established, new designations have been issued 33 times by Republican and Democratic presidents, including six times during the George H.W. Bush administration, ten times during the Clinton administration, twice during the George W. Bush administration, seven times during the Obama administration, and eight times during the Biden administration.

Source: Department of Justice, "Temporary Protected Status," https://www.justice.gov/eoir/temporary-protected-status.
1. These designations were previously terminated, yet court injunctions prevented terminations from taking effect, and DHS extended the validity of all TPS-related documents for beneficiaries of TPS for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan. DHS subsequently issued new designations for Haiti and Sudan; In 2024, DHS also rescinded the terminations for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, and announced extensions for those countries.
2. Counts of redesignations and extensions include only formal redesignations and extensions of the TPS designation, but do not include automatic extensions of documentation or benefits
3. For countries with active designations, we have listed the date of termination as the date on which the most recent designation, redesignation, or extension is scheduled to expire. Please note that these dates could change if the designation is terminated, extended, or redesignated.

Immigrants can apply for TPS if Congress or the Secretary of Homeland Security issues a designation that “conditions in the country temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely.” Many TPS recipients originally entered the U.S. as temporary immigrants or visitors, individuals seeking humanitarian relief, or without immigration status.

For more information on Temporary Protected Status, see our TPS blog: 5 things to know.

Upon registration with and approval by USCIS, TPS holders are protected from deportation and can receive work authorization. Only individuals already in the U.S. when a designation is announced are eligible to receive TPS. The program is not a substitute for refugee or asylum protections, which provide permanent relief to individuals who are actively fleeing dangerous conditions and need to permanently resettle; TPS is instead a temporary relief for individuals who are already in the U.S. and who cannot safely return home.

Many TPS holders have lived in the United States for many years, setting down roots and building families here. As a result, many TPS recipients are deeply ingrained into American families and communities. Whether these families will be able to remain safe and together is inextricably bound to their loved ones’ TPS protections.

TPS holders are crucial contributors to our economy, their communities and their families. Congress and the administration should do everything in their power to keep TPS holders safe by letting them remain and work in the U.S. 

Video Image

Wilna's Story

Meet Wilna, a mother, Haitian TPS holder and a community leader working every day to secure immigration relief for her family and for her community in Florida.

Population estimates in this report reflect TPS holders as of September 30, 2024. Immigration status assignments performed by FWD.us researchers using the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) provide the base data for the data analysis. Other government data, including figures from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Department of Homeland Security, allowed researchers to add to the underlying 2023 ACS data to obtain end estimates as of September 30, 2024. (See our complete methodology for 2023 immigrant assignment.) 

TPS holder characteristics are the same as undocumented peers from the same country who entered the U.S. during 2022 and 2023; consequently, they do not reflect most recent destination patterns within the U.S. 

Contributions to the U.S. economy are based on spending power, or total wages after the payment of federal, payroll, state, and local income taxes.

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