House Report Alleges Dramatic Expansion of Temporary Protected Status Under Biden Administration, Raising Concerns of Abuse and Fraud
A new report from the House Judiciary Committee, obtained by Fox News Digital, asserts that the Biden administration has significantly expanded the use of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a decades-old immigration program, leading to a near quadrupling of beneficiaries compared to the end of the Trump administration. The report raises concerns about potential fraud, abuse of the program’s original intent, and the long-term implications for immigration enforcement.
TPS, established in the 1990s, provides temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to foreign nationals residing in the United States whose home countries are deemed unsafe due to armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. While intended as a temporary measure, the report argues that TPS has evolved into a de facto permanent status, with some countries remaining under TPS designation for decades despite improvements in their domestic situations.
The report highlights a stark contrast between the Trump and Biden administrations’ approaches to TPS. The Trump administration initially sought to limit the program’s scope, while the Biden administration has significantly expanded it. According to the report, the number of individuals benefiting from TPS increased from approximately 410,000 at the end of the Trump administration to over 1.4 million as of January 2025. These beneficiaries hail from 16 different countries.
The House Judiciary Committee report specifically scrutinizes the Biden-Harris administration, alleging that it added one million individuals to TPS in just four years. The report claims that many of these beneficiaries entered the country illegally, with a substantial portion originating from Haiti and Venezuela. The report estimates that roughly 725,000 individuals currently under TPS initially entered the United States during the Biden administration.
The report points out a particularly significant increase in TPS beneficiaries from Venezuela. While there were no Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries at the start of the Biden administration, designations in 2021 and 2023 led to a total of 614,044 Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries as of January 2025, representing nearly half of the total TPS population. The report further alleges that 95% of Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries did not enter the country with a valid visa, suggesting that they either entered illegally or through humanitarian parole programs.
Similar trends were observed for Haitian nationals. According to the report, the number of Haitian TPS beneficiaries surged from 55,000 in January 2021 to 342,260 in January 2025, with 91% having entered the U.S. without a visa.
While the report primarily focuses on the Biden administration’s expansion of TPS, it acknowledges that previous administrations have also been criticized for their handling of the program. The report alleges that the rapid expansion of TPS under the Biden administration has created opportunities for fraud, potentially driven by a desire to prevent the Trump administration from removing large numbers of undocumented immigrants. The report cites instances of individuals claiming one nationality for parole purposes and a different nationality when applying for TPS, including a case involving 99 Afghans who were later granted TPS as Haitian nationals.
The report notes that the Trump administration began to reverse the Biden administration’s TPS policies, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently vacating a decision to extend TPS for Haitian nationals. Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stated that the administration was returning TPS to its original, temporary status. These moves followed an earlier decision to revoke the TPS status of over 300,000 Venezuelan nationals.
The House Judiciary Committee report calls for further action to address the issues it identifies. While acknowledging the initial steps taken by the Trump administration to restore integrity to the program, the report argues that more needs to be done to root out fraud, end TPS designations that are no longer justified, and implement reforms to prevent future abuse.
The report emphasizes the role of Congress in addressing these concerns, stating that Congress has a critical role to play in instituting appropriate reforms to ensure that TPS is not abused by future administrations. The report’s authors argue that the current state of TPS amounts to a de facto amnesty program that undermines immigration laws and jeopardizes national security.
The report concludes by urging Congress to act swiftly to address the issues raised and restore integrity to the TPS program. The findings of the House Judiciary Committee report are likely to fuel further debate over immigration policy and the role of TPS in the U.S. immigration system. The allegations of fraud and abuse are certain to draw scrutiny from lawmakers and immigration advocates on both sides of the issue.
