DHS Terminates Temporary Protected Status for Honduras and Nicaragua, Effective September 8, 2025

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

Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and provide updates on the Immigration blog as additional information becomes available.

This article and more information on how the Trump administration’s actions impact employers can be found on Ogletree Deakins’ New Administration Resource Hub.

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