Extending Temporary Protected Status for Honduras: Country Conditions and U.S. Legal Requirements

Following Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which displaced thousands of people and severely damaged physical infrastructure and socio-economic stability in Honduras and Nicaragua, the U.S. Congress granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Hondurans and Nicaraguans in the U.S. TPS provides relief to foreign nationals who are unable to return to their home countries due to natural disaster, economic instability or violence. This report details the current conditions in Honduras. Owing to decades of instability due to natural disaster, housing insecurity, crime and economic instability, the authors argue that TPS should be preserved for Honduran nationals living in the U.S. According to Federal Register notices, the Department of Homeland Security has consistently cited those issues as reasons to extend TPS for Hondurans. The Department of Homeland Security may issue extensions of six to 18 months while conditions that prevent foreign nationals from returning to their home countries persist. The report recommends that TPS should be extended past the January 2018 deadline for renewal as there has been no substantial improvement in conditions and because a large percentage of Hondurans still rely on remittances from Hondurans working in the U.S. In cases of TPS designation because of natural disasters, the report also recommends collaborating with the designated country to develop benchmarks of improvement to better assess a country's ability to handle returning nationals. (Subsequent to publication of this report, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new, six-month extension of TPS for Hondurans to July 5, 2018) (Mia Fasano for the Immigrant Learning Center's Public Education Institute)

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