The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that nationals from Ukraine, Sudan, and El Salvador will continue to be protected from deportation in the United States, while protections for individuals from several African and Latin American countries have been withdrawn. This announcement, made on Sunday, keeps the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in place for eligible individuals from Ukraine and Sudan pending future decisions. A DHS spokesperson stated that any forthcoming decisions regarding these countries will be made “at the appropriate time.”
As of March 2025, more than 100,000 Ukrainians and 1,790 Sudanese nationals were enrolled in TPS. Established in 1990, TPS shields foreign nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or humanitarian crises from deportation while allowing them to live and work in the U.S.
The situation for El Salvador contrasts sharply with the fate of affected nations such as Haiti, Somalia, Ethiopia, and others that have lost their TPS protections. As of September 2026, Salvadorans remain under TPS, which has continued despite the lack of a final decision from the DHS about the program’s future. Approximately 170,000 Salvadorans participate in TPS, contributing an estimated $5.4 billion annually to the U.S. economy.
In recent developments, El Salvador has cooperated with the U.S. on deportations, receiving numerous deportees from the U.S. This relationship may have influenced the decision to maintain TPS for Salvadorans. Nevertheless, there has been no official connection presented between the TPS reprieve and El Salvador’s cooperation on deportations.
Meanwhile, Haitians face an uncertain future. Continued gang violence, mass displacement, and food insecurity have prompted concerns about the risks associated with returning Haitian nationals. In June 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the administration could proceed with the termination of TPS for Haitian and Syrian nationals, removing a legal hurdle that had previously protected these groups.
Humanitarian organizations have expressed alarm over the safety of Haitian returnees amid the nation’s ongoing crises. In its rationale, the administration has indicated that TPS offers temporary humanitarian relief and that its decisions to extend or terminate protections rely on individual country assessments.
While Ukrainians, Sudanese, and Salvadorans can remain in the U.S. for now, the uncertainty surrounding the future of TPS for these groups persists as DHS prepares its next announcement.
