October 26th, 2023 at 05:10 am

US Extends Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelan Migrants in the US

The Biden Administration welcomed thousands of men, women, and children who had fled violence and natural disasters and were without a place to live, and it extended temporary protection to about 472,000 Venezuelan migrants living in the United States.

It did, however, also portend significant economic benefits for US communities. According to research conducted by the American Immigration Council, immigrants who are granted temporary protected status (TPS) contribute significantly to the labor shortage in the community and even launch high-risk businesses.

They buy homes and contribute billions of dollars to the wealth of Regional Housing while also spending billions on taxes and consumer goods. With the safeguards provided by the TPS program, which Congress established in the Immigration Act of 1990, all of these contributions are more likely to be made.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

For nationals of particular countries facing an ongoing armed conflict, an environmental calamity, or unusual and transitory circumstances, TPS is a temporary immigration status. For specified periods of six, twelve, or eighteen months, individuals from TPS-eligible nations who are currently in the country are eligible to get a work permit and are shielded from deportation.

Designations as TPS countries can and frequently are renewed. Many people have spent more than 20 years living in the nation. TPS holders can support their American communities broadly in addition to taking care of themselves and their families. In the most recent year for which socioeconomic data is available, almost 354,000 immigrants were found to have Temporary Protected Status.

TPS households held $8 billion in purchasing power money in 2021, which helped sustain American companies and their employees, while they earned $10.3 billion. It was discovered that 94.6% of TPS holders had jobs. Additionally, their rate of entrepreneurship was high (14.5%). In 2021, TPS households contributed almost 1.3 billion in federal taxes, which support critical entitlement systems like Social Security and Medicare, compared to 99.3% of US-born workers.

Additionally, they support Bureau Federal Public Assistance programs like regular Medicaid coverage and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), for which TPS holders are ineligible. Additionally, TPS holders contributed a total of 966.5 million in state and local taxes, which support local police departments, schools, and other services.

The TPS holders’ contributions were especially significant in several crucial States, most notably those that have been busing migrants northward since last year, including parts of Texas and Florida.

Further Details

In 2021, four states—Florida, California, Texas, and New York—accounted for roughly three out of every five TPS holders. In 2021, TPS households made over $1 billion in income and spent over $110 million in Florida, California, and Texas together. TPS households had spending power of over $1.1 billion in that year.

It is reasonable to anticipate that new TPS holders will boost the GDP of other states. 610,630 persons had TPS status as of March 2023 as a result of the Biden Administration’s extension of the program from 12 to 16 countries. More immigrants are now able to actively participate in local economies thanks to the September extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelan migrants who entered the nation by July 31, 2023.

2014 saw a precipitous decline in Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy, which led to widespread violence and acute shortages of food, medicine, and other needs. 7.7 million people, or more than 25% of the population, had departed the nation; of them, 1.4 million did so between May 2022 and August 2023.

Over 6.5 million of them made their home in Latin American and Caribbean nations. Before the designation’s extension, only 242,700 Venezuelans who sought asylum in the US held TPS status. Consequently, those who were present by March 9, 2021. After that date, hundreds of thousands of migrants from Venezuela arrived unprotected and thus could not lawfully work.

Cities in the US struggled to house people as companies faced a labor crisis and migrants looked for work. These Venezuelans now have 18 months of TPS thanks to the September extension. The nation’s designation must be renewed by the president for a maximum of 18 months. This is the situation for all TPS holders, and because of the continuous violence and harsh circumstances overseas, it leaves them in a state of limbo frequently for many years.

2021 Statistics

In 2021, almost 80% of TPS holders in the US had been residents for more than 20 years. Some are raising kids who don’t recall ever living in another house. TPS holders fear deportation to a dangerous area of the world and would also have to give up their employment, businesses, and homes if the federal government decided to revoke a TPS designation, as the Trump Administration threatened to do for several designated countries.

With a combined home value of $19 billion as of 2021, at least 41% of TPS households nationwide had also made a purchase, increasing the wealth and property tax income of their Region.

If holders of TPS had access to a permanent road to residency, would such financial investments in the United States increase? If they could see living in this nation in the future The council’s research demonstrates the financial contributions TPS holders already make while residing in limbo, even after 18 months. The US should investigate whether it is losing out on even more economic opportunities by not extending residence.

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