Washington Stand: Biden Shields 1.2 Million Illegal Immigrants from Trump Deportations
Ben Johnson
Senior reporter and editor
The Washington Stand.
January 14, 2025
With just days before President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office, the Biden-Harris administration has taken steps to tie the incoming administration’s hands and shield an estimated 1.2 million people from potential deportations. The beneficiaries may include members of transnational gangs such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to citizens of El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela on January 10. Under the last-minute executive action, residents of those countries now in the United States, most of whom are present illegally, cannot be deported until September or October 2026.
Mayorkas, who was impeached by the House of Representatives for gross negligence at the U.S. border before seeing the impeachment die in the Democrat-controlled Senate, justified his actions on the basis of everything from “political and economic crises” to “environmental conditions.”
Yet many see it as a last-ditch effort to stymie the incoming presidency of Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20 after winning the 2024 election with a promise of “mass deportations.”
“The decision to extend TPS this late in the administration is a blatant misuse of power, and it calls into question whether Mayorkas actually conducted a full-scale and unbiased review of country conditions as required by the law,” said Julie Kirchner, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), in a statement emailed to The Washington Stand. “While members of Venezuela’s notorious gang, Tren de Aragua, terrorize American communities, Mayorkas is extending their ability to remain and work in the U.S. until October of 2026 — nearly 630 days from today. And, El Salvador has been designated for nearly 24 years, despite improving conditions since the earthquakes in 2001.”
The latest action may benefit foreign-based gangs present in the United States and recruiting among the immigrant community in American high schools and middle schools.
The Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua (TdA), who motto is “Real until death,” was designated a transnational criminal organization by the Biden-Harris administration in July. Tren de Aragua burst into public consciousness last September, when video emerged of TdA members controlling and terrorizing residents of whole apartment buildings in the Denver suburb of Aurora. The current administration is offering a $12 million reward for the three leaders of TdA, whose estimated membership stands at 5,000 — and growing. MS-13, which stands for “Mara Salvatrucha” and is based in El Salvador, has an infamous reputation for murdering, raping, and beheading its victims.
Both Tren de Aragua and MS-13 have recruited and assaulted young people in America’s public schools. During his first State of the Union address, President Donald Trump mentioned the names of two people killed by MS-13: Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens.
TPS would apply to members of those gangs who have not yet been convicted of additional crimes that would qualify them for deportation as criminal aliens, allowing the menace to grow.
Declaring or extending TPS status actually hampers current deportations, as it applies to those in federal custody for immigration violations. “An individual in removal proceedings, at the time of the foreign state’s designation, may submit an application to USCIS,” states the federal government. Under federal law, 8 C.F.R. §244.7(d) states in which case “[e]ligibility for Temporary Protected Status ... shall be decided by the Executive Office for Immigration Review.” The director of EOIR is appointed by the president and reports to the deputy attorney general of the Justice Department. Current EOIR Director David Neal — the former director of policy analysis for the Soros-funded, pro-open borders American Immigration Lawyers Association — was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
So-called “temporary” protection has become one of the Biden-Harris administration’s primary administrative tools to grant executive amnesty to illegal immigrants. The number of foreign nationals in our midst covered by TPS orders surged an incredible 240% over the last four years. In all, 84% (or 1,778 million of the 2.122 million) foreigner residents in the U.S. who are covered by TPS decrees received that designation from the Biden-Harris administration, according to FAIR.
Furthermore, critics say there is nothing “temporary” about TPS status. Somalia has had “temporary protected status” under renewed executive pronouncements since 1991, Nicaragua and Honduras since 1999, and El Salvador since 2001. “As of the cover date of this report, 17 countries are designated for TPS. As of September 30, 2024, approximately 1,095,115 foreign nationals residing in the United States from the following 16 countries were protected by TPS: Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen,” notes the Congressional Research Service.
FAIR estimates the latest TPS extension applies to 795,000 from Venezuela; 239,000 people from El Salvador; 226,300 people from Ukraine; and 5,840 from Sudan — for a total of 1,266,140 foreign nationals currently residing in the United States.
That number is larger than the federal government’s estimate of just under one million because, FAIR notes, those who have not yet applied for TPS status may file late if they meet certain criteria. “You can apply for TPS for the first time during an extension of your country’s TPS designation period,” declares U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Extending TPS status for that many people less than a fortnight before the self-described “deporter-in-chief” takes office interferes with the U.S. democratic process, hinders the expressed will of the voters, and cries out for legal change, say critics.
“It’s past time Congress reform the law so that the system cannot be abused, and we hope President Trump will work with Congress to restore the program to its original intent,” said Kirchner.
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Article reprinted by kind permission of The Washington Stand, the publishing arm of the Family Research Council.
