With Immigration Status in Limbo, Some TPS Holders Consider Heading North — To Canada

President Trump has sought to strip Haitians, Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Hondurans, and citizens of several other countries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)  Lawsuits have challenged the administration’s efforts.  However, many TPS holders face an uncertain future in the United States.  

Phillip Martin of WGBH News reports that immigrants living in Massachusetts on TPS are beginning to head for the US/Canada border as courts consider President Trump’s plan to send them back to their home countries.  The Canadian border that is seeing a surge in out-migration from the U.S.

There are more than 300,000 immigrants nationwide who are in the U.S. on TPS, which protects foreign nationals living in the United States. In 2017 and 2018, the Trump administration canceled TPS for Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Nepal, Honduras and Sudan. Courts have blocked cancellations for these countries for the time being. But if the lawsuits fail, many TPS holders, including at least 12,000 in Massachusetts, will need to consider their options.  It appears that Canada is one of them.

KJ