The Department of Homeland Security stated that over 100,000 Ukrainians and Sudanese retain Temporary Protected Status after their designations were set to expire on Oct. 19, 2026.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that more than 100,000 people from Ukraine and Sudan can remain in the United States without immediate risk of deportation. The decision provides a temporary reprieve after their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was set to expire on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026.
Temporary Protected Status was scheduled to end for approximately 101,000 Ukrainians and 1,800 Sudanese. In a written statement, DHS said that an announcement regarding the future of these designations “will be made at the appropriate time.” Until that announcement is made, the department stated that Ukrainians and Sudanese covered by the measures “retain protection.”
The Department did not specify how long the individuals could stay or when a final decision on their status would be issued. DHS did not respond to inquiries about whether work permits would remain valid, though TPS generally allows beneficiaries to work while protections are in effect.
Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of Hope For Ukraine, a nonprofit providing humanitarian aid and resettlement assistance, criticized the lack of a permanent solution. He described the government’s announcement as “last-minute patches.”
“It’s time for U.S. to come up with some normal path to permanent residency for all these people,” Boyechko said. He emphasized that beneficiaries cannot safely return to Ukraine.
Andrew Arthur, a national-security and immigration expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that favors lower immigration, noted that the government faces no deadline for a final decision. “It’s simply going to be an extension until it is a termination,” Arthur said. He added, “It’s beyond cavil that both Sudan and Ukraine are experiencing ongoing armed conflict, and therefore the secretary is well within his authority to continue TPS for each of them.”
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, stated that Ukraine and Sudan meet the legal conditions for TPS extension. “It is not safe for these families to go home,” Vignarajah said.
The Trump administration has previously terminated TPS for more than 1 million people from 13 countries, including Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, and Syria. However, in a shift in practice roughly a month ago, the administration allowed nearly 200,000 Salvadorans to remain in the U.S. after their TPS was set to expire on Sept. 9, 2026. In that instance, DHS also stated it would make a decision “at the appropriate time.”
Ukraine was first designated for TPS in April 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion. The Biden administration extended this designation most recently in January 2025, authorizing protection through October 2026. The TPS program for Sudan was established in 1997 and has been extended by successive administrations due to armed conflict and political instability.
The decision comes two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, a period when immigration policies are a significant political issue. The TPS program, created by Congress in 1990, allows individuals to remain and work in the U.S. if the homeland security secretary determines conditions in their home country are unsafe. It does not provide a pathway to permanent residency. Supporters argue the program prevents deportation to dangerous situations, while critics, including those in the Trump administration, argue that protections have been extended for years regardless of changing conditions in home countries.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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