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Following Pingree Push, Biden. Admin Extends, Redesignates Protections for South Sudanese Amid Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis

On Friday, Maine’s First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree led letter to President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas in urging the Administration to extend and redesignate South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status, which was set to expire on Nov. 3, 2023.

Washington, September 5, 2023
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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) is praising the Biden Administration for extending and redesignating South Sudan for Temporary Protection Status (TPS) through May 3, 2025, safeguarding the lives of both current TPS holders and South Sudanese who have arrived in the United States since the last redesignation in 2022. The news comes just days after Pingree led a group of 19 Members of Congress in urging President Joe Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to act ahead of South Sudan’s TPS expiration on November 3, 2023. 

“The United States has a duty to continue offering a safe haven for those who have been displaced and endangered amid the continued and intensified violence and political unrest in South Sudan,” said Pingree. “Allowing those in danger to seek refuge in our country demonstrates the United States’ commitment to human rights, and I commend President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas for taking the necessary action to extend these protections for the South Sudanese ahead of the looming November 3 expiration.”

South Sudan is currently experiencing intensifying violent conflict, food scarcity, and instability further exacerbated by the recent war in Sudan, all of which qualify South Sudan for an extension and redesignation of TPS.

The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country's nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.

Currently, there are 16 countries designated for TPS: Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen.

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