June 23, 2025

Wyden Reintroduces Legislation to Protect TPS and DED Recipients

The legislation has been reintroduced following Trump’s attack on immigrant communities, including 563,000 TPS recipients

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined 30 senators today in reintroducing legislation to provide qualified Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure recipients a path to legal permanent residency. 

“Donald Trump’s all-out war on immigrants spits in the faces of our Founding Fathers,” Wyden said. “Torching TPS is not the answer to repairing our country’s broken immigration system. Immigrants are the backbone of American communities, making the most out of hard-working everyday jobs that prop up our local economies. This bill offers a pathway to permanent residency to TPS recipients so they can fulfill their dream of building a life here in America.”

Currently, 860,000 people live  in the United States with TPS status, a program that  provides temporary, legal immigration status to those fleeing natural disasters, violence, and political security in their home countries. Similarly, DED is a temporary and discretionary administrative stay of removal granted to foreign citizens from designated countries. These grants are usually in response to war, civil unrest, or natural disasters through an executive order or presidential memorandum that provides eligibility guidelines to conduct foreign relations.

The reintroduction of the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and Emergency (SECURE) Act follows the Trump administration and the Supreme Court’s attack on TPS. The Supreme Court upheld the Trump administration’s repeal of TPS for an estimated 563,000 recipients, putting hundreds of thousands of immigrants at risk of deportation and significant danger in their home countries.

This legislation is endorsed by AFL-CIO, Laborers’ International Union of North America, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades , CASA, National TPS Alliance, Working Families United, the National Network for Arab American Communities, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Service Employees International Union , and Communities United for Status and Protection.

In addition to Wyden, Senators Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., introduced the legislation, and was joined by Senators Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Chris Coons, D-Del., Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Tim Kaine, D-Va., Andy Kim, D-N.J., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Edward Markey, D-Mass., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Mark Warner, D-Va., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

Specifically, the SECURE Act would ensure current and past TPS recipients and DED eligible individuals – who have been continuously present in the United States for at least three years – are eligible to apply for legal permanent residency.

.Under the SECURE Act:

  1. A spouse, domestic partner, child, or unmarried child of a qualifying non-citizen would be eligible to obtain permanent resident status (upon meeting certain requirements).
  2. Individuals with a pending TPS application will receive work authorization and be eligible for travel authorization.
  3. Non-citizens with a pending application on intention to apply for permanent legal status are shielded from deportation.  Non-citizens who have a pending application or are prima facie eligible for permanent status under the bill and intends to apply are shielded from deportation.
  4. Information from an applicant’s application may not be shared or used for immigration enforcement purposes, with limited exceptions such as identifying fraudulent claims.
  5. DHS must provide reasonable explanation to Congress before terminating a country’s DHS status.