ARTICLE
17 July 2025

DHS Terminates Temporary Protected Status For Honduras And Nicaragua, Effective September 8, 2025

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Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart

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Ogletree Deakins is a labor and employment law firm representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. Ogletree Deakins has more than 850 attorneys located in 53 offices across the United States and in Europe, Canada, and Mexico. The firm represents a range of clients, from small businesses to Fortune 50 companies.
On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation...
Honduras Immigration

On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Honduras and Nicaragua. The termination of the TPS designation for both countries will take effect on September 8, 2025. The termination of the TPS designation for Honduras and Nicaragua will impact over 72,000 Honduran nationals and 4,000 Nicaraguan nationals currently under TPS and will necessitate their transition out of TPS by September 8.

Quick Hits

  • The termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Honduras will impact approximately 72,000 nationals of Honduras.
  • The termination of the TPS designation for Nicaragua will impact approximately 4,000 nationals of Nicaragua.
  • The termination will take effect September 8, 2025, rather than the original July 5, 2025, expiration.

Honduras and Nicaragua were first designated for TPS on January 5, 1999, following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch, which resulted in significant but temporary disruptions to living conditions. After consultations with relevant U.S. government agencies, DHS concluded that, despite ongoing challenges, improved conditions in Honduras and Nicaragua mean the countries no longer qualify for TPS designation. During this sixty-day transition period from the announcement of the termination on July 8 in the Federal Register until September 8, Honduran and Nicaraguan TPS beneficiaries will retain their employment authorization. However, after this period, they must seek alternative lawful immigration status or face removal from the United States.

Practical Impact

The Federal Register notice results in DHS automatically extending the validity of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) previously issued under Honduras's and Nicaragua's TPS designations until September 8, 2025. TPS beneficiaries attempting to verify their continued employment authorization through the new effective date can present their EADs, which should have the notation "A-12" or "C-19" under the "Category" section and a "Card Expires" date with the following:

Nicaragua January 5, 2018
January 5, 2019
April 2, 2019
January 2, 2020
January 4, 2021
October 4, 2021
December 31, 2022
June 30, 2024
July 5, 2025
Honduras January 5, 2018
July 5, 2018
January 5, 2020
January 4, 2021

October 4, 2021
December 31, 2022
June 30, 2024

July 5, 2025

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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