TPS Reform Act Hands Immigration Power to Congress, Capping Protected Status at 18 Months

The TPS Reform Act of 2025 completely rewrites how the U.S. handles Temporary Protected Status (TPS), the program that allows people from countries hit by armed conflict or natural disasters to live and work here temporarily. Historically, the executive branch—specifically the Secretary of Homeland Security (and previously the Attorney General)—had the power to designate and extend TPS. This bill takes that power away and gives it exclusively to Congress. For a country to receive initial TPS designation, Congress must now pass a specific new Act, which can only grant protection for a maximum of 18 months.

The New Rules: Everything Requires an Act of Congress

Think of TPS as a temporary shelter pass—it's meant to be nimble and responsive to sudden crises like an earthquake or a civil war. This bill makes the process anything but nimble. Under the new structure outlined in Section 2, Congress must pass a new law to designate a country for TPS, finding that conditions like armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other "extraordinary, temporary problems" prevent safe return. That initial designation can only last 18 months. If those conditions persist, Congress has to pass a second new Act just to extend the status, and that extension is capped at 12 months. This means that for a country to maintain TPS for even three years, Congress would need to pass three separate pieces of legislation.

Instability for People, Gridlock for Policy

For the roughly 670,000 people currently holding TPS—many of whom have been here for years, have U.S. citizen children, and are working in essential jobs—this creates massive instability. Imagine being a construction worker or a nurse with TPS; every 12 to 18 months, your right to stay and work depends entirely on whether Congress can agree to pass a new law. Given how often Congress struggles to pass even basic funding bills, relying on them for constant re-authorization of a temporary immigration status introduces extreme political risk. This short, mandatory timeline essentially forces TPS holders to live in a perpetual state of legislative uncertainty, making long-term planning for their families or careers nearly impossible.

The Shift in Power: From DHS to Capitol Hill

While the bill technically updates the law to reflect that the Secretary of Homeland Security handles the administrative side of TPS (a necessary technical cleanup), the actual decision-making power moves entirely to the legislative branch. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can no longer respond quickly to an urgent crisis—say, a sudden coup or a devastating hurricane—by granting immediate temporary protection. Instead, they must wait for Congress to first pass a law, a process that can take months or years. This shift centralizes immigration control in a highly political body, potentially slowing down humanitarian responses and making TPS designations vulnerable to political bargaining rather than purely humanitarian need. The bill also clarifies that Congress can pass an Act to terminate a designation early, ensuring they control the off-ramp as well as the on-ramp.