Federal ruling may mean deportations of formerly protected Minn. immigrants

Immigration Temporary Status
Supporters of temporary protected status of immigrants cheer as they hold signs and banners with the outline of El Salvador at a rally at a federal courthouse in San Francisco.
Jeff Chiu | AP Photo 2019

Immigrant advocates say thousands of people could be deported because of a court ruling earlier this week.

A federal court ruled the Trump administration could end temporary protected status for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan.

At a press conference in Minneapolis Thursday, Marco Hernandez, an organizer of the Twin Cities group Communities Organizing Latinx Power and Action, said more than 2,000 immigrants in Minnesota could be deported.

"Or also put back into the shadows as an undocumented immigrant since TPS also grants folks a jobs permit and a Social Security card," Hernandez said.

Temporary protected status is given to immigrants facing natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary conditions if they return to their home country.

Advocates say many of the immigrants with temporary protected status have lived in this country for decades.

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