Days before Trump takes office, Mayorkas issues sweeping immigration orders – The Center Square

Photo: Official Portrait of Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security (Wikipedia)

With just days before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office, outgoing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a swath of immigration orders that appear to be designed to prevent illegal border crossers from being deported and open up more ways for foreign nationals to stay in the country.

DHS extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to citizens of El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela.

El Salvador

El Salvador’s TPS was extended through Sept. 9, 2026, “due to environmental conditions in El Salvador.” TPS is granted to 232,000 current beneficiaries.

Under the Biden administration, 306,455 Salvadoran illegal border crossers were reported, including violent members of the MS-13 gang members who’ve been connected to a series of violent crimes committed against Americans, The Center Square reported.

Sudan

Sudan’s TPS was extended for 18 months “due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions … continued political stability … human rights abuses” among other reasons. It applies to 1,900 current beneficiaries who are Sudanese citizens or “individuals without nationality who last resided in Sudan who have been continuously residing in the United States since at least August 16, 2023, with or without lawful immigration status.”

TPS was granted to Sudan after President Joe Biden continued to extend national emergency orders citing national security threats related to terrorism, threats posed by Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, and other countries, foreign threats related to weapons of mass destruction, and Islamic threats that escalated under his administration, The Center Square reported.

Ukraine

Ukraine’s TPS was extended for 18 months “due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Ukraine.” It applies to 103,700 current eligible beneficiaries.

This was after President Joe Biden sent another $63 million in assistance to Ukraine on Dec. 2 and after $3.4 billion was sent by the U.S. Treasury Department for budget aid through the 2024 Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act passed by Congress. The federal government has sent more than $30 billion to Ukraine since February 2022.

Venezuela

Venezuela’s TPS was extended for another 18 months with no end date “due to extraordinary and temporary conditions … severe humanitarian emergency … due to political and economic crises.” It applies to those who arrived in the U.S. by July 31, 2023. Those arriving after that date are ineligible.

TPS was granted for approximately 600,000 eligible current beneficiaries from Venezuela.

Under the Biden administration, a record more than 1 million Venezuelans illegally entered the country, including violent members of the prison gang Tren de Aragua. TdA members are now confirmed to be operating in at least 22 states, The Center Square first reported.

Visa programs and waivers expanded

DHS also issued a final rule to expand the H-1B visa program to allow U.S. employers to hire more foreign workers for “specialized” jobs.

The rule was issued after DHS last month added another nearly 65,000 H-2B visas through a different visa program for fiscal 2025 after already filling 66,000 H-2B visas.

The visas are used in the hospitality, tourism, landscaping, seafood processing and other industries. The most recent round allocates 20,000 visas to workers from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador or Costa Rica and 44,716 supplemental visas for returning workers who received an H-2B visa, or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years. The visa programs have been criticized for taking jobs away from American workers, tied to those who’ve committed crimes and been involved in forced labor conditions, according to multiple news reports.

DHS also expanded the visa waiver program to include citizens of Romania “to allow most citizens and nationals of Romania to apply to travel to the United States under the VWP for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without first obtaining a U.S. visa.” The authorization is generally valid for two years, however, some countries have waivers dating back to 1991.

Visas waivers are currently in effect for citizens of Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

Mayorkas did so after the greatest number of illegal border crossers, more than 14 million, were reported under the Biden administration ahead of the Trump administration preparing to implement a mass deportation plan.