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Green Card news: New bill could ease citizenship pathway for TPS holders in the US; details
US immigration policy is moving in two directions, helping some migrants while cracking down on others.
Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat from Florida, has introduced a new bill that could change the lives of hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in the United States on borrowed time.
The bill called the Respect for Essential Workers Act that would give people living under Temporary Protected Status a change to for the Green card. As under the current system, TPS allows people from countries facing wars, natural disasters or other serious crises to live and work in the US temporarily.
That is exactly what is happening right now. The Trump administration has already revoked the TPS for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Myanmar, Ethiopia and Yemen.
These changes could affect tens of thousands of migrants, with deadlines between mid-2025 and 2026 for them to lose their protection and work permits. Some of these decisions have been delayed or blocked by court cases.
On March 16, the US Supreme Court temporarily blocked plans to deport around 6,000 Syrians and 350,000 Haitians who had been granted TPS.
Cherfilus-McCormick highlighted the importance of TPS holders, saying on X, “Over 403, 000 TPS holders in Florida keep our communities running, working in health care, construction, food supply, and more,” and added that protecting them benefits both communities and the economy.
What happens next?
The situation is not moving in just one direction. Instead, there are different paths, each with its own risks and timelines.
For TPS holders, the Respect for Essential Workers Act is part of a larger effort by Democrats to create legal pathways to green cards. But its future is uncertain because Congress is divided and immigration remains a sensitive issue.
For SIJS recipients, things are more difficult. Even though they are supposed to be on a path to permanent residency, some are being detained and deported. Advocates say this is making their lives unstable and weakening the protections meant for them.
Overall, what happens next may depend on a person’s immigration category, government decisions, court cases and whether new laws are passed to turn temporary protections into permanent residency.
SIJS youth face enforcement actions
While TPS holders may get new opportunities, young immigrants under SIJS are facing stricter enforcement.
SIJS is a program created in 1990 to protect minors who have faced abuse, neglect, or abandonment. It is linked to a process that can lead to a green card.
According to NBC News, the government data shows that from January 20 to December 22 last year, ICE detained 265 SIJS recipients and deported 132 of them. Officials said those deported were accused of immigration violations such as entering without permission or lacking valid visas. The data did not say whether they had criminal charges.
Rachel Davidson who is director of the End SIJS Backlog Coalition and is part of the National Immigration Project told NBC News that these actions disrupt stability for young people.
“They are tearing them away from the stability that they’re in, the lives that they’re building on their pathway to permanent protection,”
The situation has become more difficult due to a policy change affecting SIJS recipients. Because there is a long wait for green cards, many young people had been protected since 2022 under a policy called deferred action. This allowed them to stay in the US and work legally while waiting to apply for a green card.
In June, the Trump administration ended this protection for SIJS recipients. However, the decision is currently on hold as it is being challenged in court.
