Court Win Brings Relief for TPS Holders, Though Uncertainty Remains

By Christopher Alam

Jhony Silva and his child. (Photo courtesy Jhony Silva)

Thirty-year-old Jhony Silva says his entire life in the United States has been political. Born in Honduras but raised in the Bay Area, he is one of the more than 1.3 million people in the country with Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Silva welcomed a court ruling in late December blocking the Trump Administration’s efforts to end TPS for certain countries, but says it is far from the end of the road.

“They’ve had thousands upon thousands of people in a limbo state,” said Silva, who came to the U.S. when he was three years old and was among the plaintiffs in the suit challenging the administration. “They’re not giving TPS holders a pathway to citizenship. For 30 plus years, they’ve just kept us as little tools.” 

‘Everything on hold’

In her Dec. 31 ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Trina L. Thompson wrote that the government violated administrative requirements, including notifying the State Department and reviewing conditions in the affected countries—Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal—before moving ahead with its decision in September to end TPS.

The move threatened to upend the status of some 60,000 individuals, many of them having lived in the U.S. for decades. Even with the favorable ruling, Silva says the government’s termination of TPS had a dramatic impact on his own life.

“I was doing really well for myself,” he said, describing his time working as a nurse’s assistant at Stanford Hospital and finishing nursing school prerequisites when the administration made its announcement. “I was finally ready to try and get my degree, then all of a sudden TPS ended and I had to put everything on hold.”

Silva, who has a nine-year-old child, lost his job and was forced to leave school because of the termination. TPS beneficiaries have many of the same rights as lawful permanent residents, including work authorization and college enrollment. The government’s abrupt end to the program left many, like Silva, in a precarious financial bind.

“Things have been difficult. I was working full time Wednesday through Sunday, I had to take care of my kid, I was doing school and then everything just came crashing down,” he said. “It’s been really tough, but I gotta stay strong.”

Video by ACoM | Laura Flores-Perilla, Staff Attorney, Justice Action Center, discusses Trump’s efforts to strip lawfully present immigrants, including those with temporary protected status (TPS) and those here on parole, of their status

TPS extensions

TPS was created in 1990 to provide temporary deportation relief and work permits to individuals unable to return to their home countries due to ongoing conflicts, natural disasters or other conditions that may put their lives in jeopardy.

In 1998, when Silva was three years old, Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras, forcing tens of thousands of families like his own to seek refuge in the United States. Over the ensuing decades, the protections were extended several times as Silva became a father and built his life here. 

“We’ve been wanting a pathway to citizenship our entire time being here in this country,” Silva said. “Everyone that is opposed to us is always saying that we should have done it the right way, that we need to wait our turn in line and stuff, but we have been doing it the right way the whole time. And we’ve been in line for more than 10, 20 years. I’ve been here 27 years and they’re still giving me a hard time…

“I just want Americans to understand that we’re not bad people. We’re not what Donald Trump says we are. Especially because I grew up here. A lot of people find it weird because I don’t sound like I have TPS. I’m from the Bay Area. I was born in Honduras, but I am from out here.” 

DHS to appeal TPS ruling

Silva says he is grateful that the rest of his family now has legal status. Both his child and younger sister were born in the U.S. When his sister turned 21 last year, she petitioned for their parents’ citizenship, which they received. It was Silva’s parents who encouraged him to join the lawsuit by the ACLU. 

Silva didn’t give it a second thought. “It kind of felt like I had to, like I have no choice. Not in a negative way. I have to do this for my people, for other TPS holders, because it’s not fair.”

Silva says he’s happy the judge ruled in their favor, but he isn’t ready to celebrate just yet.

The Department of Homeland Security says it plans to appeal the ruling. “[DHS] vehemently disagrees with this order and is working with the Department of Justice to determine next steps,” reads a statement on the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) TPS for Hondurans web page. The statement notes DHS prevailed in two similar cases that were brought to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I’m still kind of worried,” said Silva. “I’m fearful that I’ll attempt to get another job and maybe make my way back into Stanford, and then all of a sudden, it will get taken away like nothing. It’s scary how everything is unstable currently.” 

‘I’m not giving up’

That sense of instability is also being fueled by vague and often confusing guidance at the federal level about the legal path forward for TPS holders.    

“If the government isn’t able to actually fix up their language and make it more clear, our legal team is going to file another appeal to try and do something about it,” said Silva. “It’s unfair that they gave us the win in court, but they’re still making it hard to fix our current situation.” 

Silva applied for a green card while the original court case was still pending. That process remains ongoing.

He says he plans to look for work in hospitals near his home in Hayward, about 40 miles east of San Francisco. He’s already starting classes again next week.

“I really loved what I was doing… I like helping people… I’ve had to put a lot of my life on hold but I’m not giving up. I’m gonna give it another try because I gotta keep going. I’m trying to be a nurse. What else am I supposed to do? Just wallow and do nothing? I’m not gonna do that.”