US grants temporary deportation reprieve for 1,800 Sudanese immigrants

Some 1,800 people from Sudan can stay in the United States without immediate risk of deportation, the Department of Homeland Security said, in what amounts to a temporary reprieve after their right to stay in the country was set to expire Monday.

Temporary Protected Status for the group was set to end October 19, but the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an announcement “will be made at the appropriate time.”

Until then, the department said in a written statement, Sudanese in the US covered by those temporary measures “retain protection.”

The Department did not indicate how long they could stay or when a final announcement would be made on their status.

Work permits

DHS did not respond to a question about whether they can keep their work permits, but TPS generally allows people to work while their protections remain in effect.

The decision marks another incident where the Trump administration, which has previously sought to end these temporary protections from deportation and send people back to their home countries, has allowed people covered by the temporary status to stay in the country but without giving any guidance as to how long.

The Trump administration has already terminated TPS for more than 1 million people from 13 countries, including Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Syria.

The TPS program for Sudan was established in 1997, and since then, successive U.S. administrations have extended it due to the armed conflict and political instability that have plagued the African nation.