Temporary Protected Status (TPS): Where Things Stand at the Close of 2025

At a Glance

• The Trump administration continues to move forward with terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations, in line with its stated immigration agenda. Out of 17 countries under active TPS designations at the beginning of this year, 11 have now seen protected status terminated.
• The termination of a country’s TPS designation ends its nationals’ protection from removal and the ability to extend work authorization.
• While the fate of the other countries that are still under active TPS designation remains uncertain, employers should be prepared for similar terminations in 2026, based on the administration’s agenda to examine and amend humanitarian immigration programs thus far.

Status of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Programs

The Trump administration continues its plans to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations of several countries, with numerous terminations in the last months of 2025. The most recent change involves the December 12, 2025, announcement of termination of TPS for Ethiopia. These terminations should not come as a surprise, as they are in line with the day-one executive order “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” in which President Trump ordered his administration to review TPS designations and ensure they are appropriately limited in scope and made for only so long as may be necessary to fulfill the textual requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Established by Congress in 1990, this humanitarian parole program allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to grant TPS to eligible nationals of certain countries. The program permits the secretary of homeland security to designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent its nationals from returning safely or, in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately. The secretary may designate a country for TPS due to the following temporary conditions in the country: ongoing armed conflict (such as civil war), an environmental disaster (such as earthquake or hurricane) or an epidemic, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. TPS designations are limited to 18 months, and the secretary must decide whether to extend or terminate a designation based on the conditions in the foreign country at least 60 days prior to the expiration of TPS. Decisions to begin, extend or terminate a TPS designation must be published in the Federal Register.

During a designated registration period, individuals who are TPS beneficiaries or who are found preliminarily eligible for TPS upon initial review of their cases (prima facie eligible): are not removable from the United States; can obtain an employment authorization document (EAD); may be granted travel authorization; and, once granted TPS, an individual also cannot be detained by the Department of Homeland Security on the basis of their immigration status in the United States.

With the above background in mind, here is where TPS stands as of the date of this publication for countries with recently terminated TPS designations:

The TPS-designated countries listed below continue to be under active TPS designation now, but face the possibility of termination based on the current administration’s stated priorities.

Employers should consult with qualified immigration counsel to determine whether TPS employees are work-authorized, especially for those who may benefit from TPS-related automatic extensions of their EADs.

Next Steps for Employers

The termination of a country’s TPS designation ends its nationals’ protection from removal and the ability to extend work authorization. While the fate of the TPS designations for the remaining countries above remains uncertain, employers should be prepared for similar terminations based on the Trump administration’s actions thus far.

As the future of humanitarian immigration programs remains uncertain in 2026 and beyond, employers need to understand the workforce implications if employees lose work authorization when TPS is terminated. Employers need to ensure that, in compliance with federal immigration laws, they are timely reverifying their employees’ expiring work authorization, with a clear understanding of how TPS auto-extension provisions impact expiring EADs. Employers cannot make hiring decisions based on the category of an employee’s work authorization or expiration date, but employers may also not continue to employ individuals whose work authorization has, in fact, expired.

All employers are required to ensure that they have completed and retained a compliant Form I-9 on file for every employee hired after November 6, 1986. For further information regarding verifying or reverifying the employment authorization of TPS status holders, review USCIS’s I-9 Central webpage.

For More Information

We will continue to monitor changes and provide updates, as needed.