Biden Issues Sweeping Deportation Protections Before Trump Takes Office

The Biden administration on Friday issued sweeping extensions of deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of people from Sudan, Ukraine, El Salvador and Venezuela in a move that makes it almost impossible for President-elect Donald J. Trump to swiftly strip the benefit when he takes office.

The extension of Temporary Protected Status, as the program is called, allows the immigrants to remain in the country with work permits and a shield from deportation for another 18 months from the expiration of their current protection in the spring. Late last year, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken recommended the protections be extended in a series of letters.

For decades, Democratic and Republican administrations have designated the protection for citizens of countries that are in upheaval and deemed unsafe to return to. President Biden has expanded who could receive the status, as war erupted in Ukraine and instability gripped countries like Venezuela and Haiti.

“These designations are rooted in careful review and interagency collaboration to ensure those affected by environmental disasters and instability are given the protections they need while continuing to contribute meaningfully to our communities,” said Representative Adriano Espaillat of New York, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Mr. Trump has vowed to end the program, at least for certain countries. Immigrant advocates had been urging the Biden administration to extend it for many of those countries before he takes office.

In his first term, Mr. Trump terminated the status for about 400,000 people from El Salvador and other countries, arguing that conditions there had changed and that the protection was no longer warranted. The move was challenged in court and did not take effect, but he is expected to try again during his second term, as part of his pledge to conduct mass deportations.