Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a U.S. designation granted by the Secretary of Homeland Security to nationals of countries facing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or extraordinary conditions, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. temporarily. Established by the Immigration Act of 1990, TPS has grown to cover approximately 1,297,635 people as of March 2025, and beneficiaries are protected from removal and can obtain work authorization. By 2017, the program covered nationals from ten countries including El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, and Syria, but the Trump administration attempted to terminate it for several groups, prompting advocacy for permanent residency pathways. In the 2021 Supreme Court case Sanchez v. Mayorkas, the Court ruled that TPS does not constitute lawful admission, meaning unlawful entrants with TPS cannot automatically apply for green cards. As of March 2024, Venezuelans had become the largest TPS group (1.2 million eligible or receiving), while similar protections like Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) exist, notably for Liberians, who can also seek permanent residency under the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (LRIF).