Biden extends US stay for nearly one million immigrants

President Joe Biden's administration has said that nearly one million immigrants from El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela will be allowed to legally remain in the United States for another 18 months.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Friday it was extending the so-called "temporary protected status" (TPS) of 232,000 Salvadorans, 1,900 Sudanese, 600,000 Venezuelans and 103,700 Ukrainians.

The move comes less than 10 days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to carry out a mass deportation of migrants after taking office.

TPS is granted to foreign citizens who cannot safely return home because of war, natural disasters or other "extraordinary" conditions.

Trump sought to end the programme during his first term but was stymied by legal opposition.

DHS on new measures

DHS said that due to environmental conditions, Salvadorans who currently enjoy TPS can re-register in March and remain in the country until September 2026.

"El Salvador's extension of TPS is based on geological and weather events," it said.

The extension of TPS for Sudanese is due to the ongoing armed conflict in the country.

As for Venezuelans, TPS was being extended because of the "severe humanitarian emergency the country continues to face due to political and economic crises under the inhumane Maduro regime," DHS said.

Nicolas Maduro was sworn in on Friday for a third term as Venezuela's president.

The United States does not recognize his election victory.

Ukrainians covered by TPS will be allowed to remain in the United States "because of conditions resulting from the expansion of the Russian military invasion into Ukraine," DHS said.