A program that allows undocumented immigrants whose home countries are enduring armed conflict or natural disaster to stay in the U.S. on a temporary basis. Access to the program is determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security and can be renewed by that agency. Roughly 317,000 people from 10 countries had TPS as of the end of 2019. The Trump administration announced plans to end the program for nearly all of them. Expiration dates began on March 3, 2020, affecting those from Yemen first, but various lawsuits blocked the administration’s decision. In early 2021, the Biden administration stopped plans to end the program and instead made more immigrants eligible.

See Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA).