Temporary Protected Status recipients facing the loss of deportation protections are placing new hope in the November congressional elections, calculating that a change in control of the House or Senate could reopen a legislative path for immigrants who have lived and worked legally in the United States for years.

The urgency follows a June Supreme Court decision that allowed the Trump administration to curtail TPS protections for immigrants from Haiti and Syria. The 6-3 ruling in Mullin v. Doe was written broadly enough to give the executive branch substantial latitude over other country designations, according to a report published Monday by KERA News and Houston Public Media. The administration has since moved against protections covering much of the TPS population.

TPS was established by Congress in 1990 for nationals of countries where armed conflict, environmental disasters or other extraordinary conditions make a safe return difficult. It permits eligible recipients to remain in the United States and obtain work authorization for a designated period. It does not, by itself, provide lawful permanent residency or a route to citizenship.

That distinction has left longtime recipients vulnerable to changes in presidential policy. Many have repeatedly renewed their status, paid application fees, passed background checks and built their lives around the expectation that protection would continue while dangerous conditions persisted in their countries of origin. Once a designation ends, recipients without another legal basis to remain may lose employment authorization and become subject to removal.

Houston immigration attorney Gordon Quan told the Texas public-radio outlets that more than 100,000 people across the state are anxious about what comes next. Texas has significant communities with ties to El Salvador and other Central American countries, as well as Lebanese and Ukrainian populations whose members may be affected by upcoming TPS expirations or cancellations.

The uncertainty is already reshaping individual lives. A Venezuelan recipient identified by KERA only as Luis said he came to the United States in 2017 after facing persecution connected to his service in Venezuela’s military and opposition to the government. He later received TPS while pursuing an asylum claim and moved from restaurant work into operating a roofing-inspection company.

Luis said he fears Immigration and Customs Enforcement could detain him when he appears for a future immigration-court proceeding, even though his asylum case remains pending. His account illustrates the limits of TPS: losing the designation does not automatically resolve a separate asylum application, but it can remove an independent shield against deportation and eliminate employment authorization tied to TPS.

A Honduran recipient identified as Sara described a different predicament. She has lived in the United States for approximately 30 years and has four U.S.-citizen children. After her protection ended, she said she lost her job as a Walmart manager. Her circumstances demonstrate how termination can affect mixed-status families whose children remain legally and socially rooted in the United States even if a parent becomes deportable.

Jose, a Salvadoran TPS recipient and National TPS Alliance worker who also withheld his last name, said recipients are asking Congress to act after the election. The immediate concern, he said, is how many people will be able to avoid detention and deportation before lawmakers have another opportunity to take up legislation.

Jose said TPS had allowed him to work, obtain a driver’s license and Social Security number, and live without the immediate threat of removal. He estimated that he renewed his status more than 10 times. Federal law disqualifies applicants convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States, among other grounds, meaning continued eligibility depends partly on maintaining a qualifying record.

Congress has proposals available, but their prospects remain uncertain. The American Dream and Promise Act of 2025, introduced by Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas, would create routes to permanent status for certain immigrants brought to the United States as children and for qualifying TPS or Deferred Enforced Departure beneficiaries. Congress.gov listed 213 cosponsors, but the bill remained at the introduced stage and had not advanced from its House committees.

Advocates have also pursued a discharge petition, a House procedure that can force a floor vote when it secures 218 signatures. Such a maneuver can overcome resistance from committee or party leadership, but passage in the House would be only one step. A measure would still need Senate approval and the president’s signature.

That arithmetic tempers expectations surrounding the midterms. Democrats would need to gain control and maintain enough internal support to move a bill through both chambers. If Trump vetoed the legislation, Congress could override him only with two-thirds votes in both the House and Senate, a threshold far higher than a simple majority. A divided Congress could instead pursue narrower compromises, oversight, appropriations restrictions or country-specific protections, though each route would face political and procedural obstacles.

The administration argues that TPS was designed to be temporary and should not become an indefinite substitute for the permanent immigration system. Following the Supreme Court decision, Department of Homeland Security general counsel James Percival said some designations had developed into “de facto amnesty” and characterized the ruling as a victory for the rule of law. Supporters of termination say Congress, rather than repeated executive extensions, should decide whether longtime recipients may remain permanently.

Recipients and their allies agree that Congress holds the power to establish durable status, but contend that abruptly withdrawing protection imposes severe costs while lawmakers remain deadlocked. They point to beneficiaries who have spent decades in the country, raised U.S.-citizen children, purchased homes and developed specialized workplace experience.

Employers are adding an economic argument. The American Business Immigration Coalition has warned that widespread loss of TPS work permits could worsen labor shortages in construction, roofing, home health care, education and other sectors. Luis Zaldivar, the coalition’s business engagement director, told KERA that recipients are legally employed, pay taxes and are already trained for positions that companies need to fill.

Research cited by the American Immigration Council estimated that TPS holders paid more than $5.2 billion in taxes and held $16.9 billion in spending power in 2023. Those figures encompass a national population spread across many states and industries, but they underscore why cancellations can affect employers and local economies as well as immigrant households.

The political debate now centers on whether temporary protection should end when an administration determines that a designation is no longer warranted, or whether long residence and economic integration justify a permanent solution. The Supreme Court ruling shifted immediate leverage toward the executive branch. For recipients, the midterm elections represent a chance to shift some of it back to Congress—but not a guarantee that relief will arrive before enforcement reaches their families.