The Trump administration has extended Temporary Protected Status for nationals of South Sudan but will end the designation for citizens from Sudan in 2018.
The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that conditions in Sudan have been deemed sufficiently improved and that TPS is no longer warranted for citizens from that country. The U.S. government confers such status on countries where citizens cannot return safely or sometimes, when the country cannot care for its people.
TPS for Sudan was set to expire this November 2, but, DHS is extending the program for a year after that (through November 2, 2018) to allow Sudanese nationals currently benefiting from TPS to wrap up their affairs in the United States. The agency says Sudanese nationals with TPS status will have to re-register for the additional year.
Also set to expire in early November, TPS for South Sudan has been extended for 18 months until May 2, 2019. DHS said the extension is necessary "because the ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions that prompted the 2016 TPS redesignation have persisted." South Sudanese nationals will also have to re-register to maintain their status.
DHS said it would publish re-registration deadlines for both groups later this week.
At the end of 2016, some 1039 Sudanese and 49 South Sudanese held TPS status.
