TPS protection continues for Ukrainians and Sudanese as decision awaits

People covered by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukraine and Sudan retain protection, including work authorization, the Department of Homeland Security said October 19, 2026. The statement came on the day the countries’ existing designation periods were scheduled to end, leaving covered people protected while the government considers further announcements.

The announcement is an interim assurance, not a formal extension, redesignation or termination of either country’s TPS designation. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ country pages said the continued protection includes permission to work. DHS did not give a date for a later decision or set out a new designation period.

Who is covered and how many people are affected i

TPS is a temporary form of protection from removal and work authorization for people who qualify under a country’s designation. The announcement concerns people from Ukraine and Sudan who are present in the United States under the relevant TPS designations; it does not make every Ukrainian or Sudanese person in the country eligible.

The Associated Press estimated that about 101,000 Ukrainians and 1,800 Sudanese were covered by the protections scheduled to end October 19. Those estimates describe people affected by the expiring designations, not everyone who has ever registered for TPS.

Other figures reported by Reuters should not be treated as a direct comparison. Reuters cited about 240,000 Ukrainians registered for TPS and an estimated 6,800 Sudanese TPS holders. Those counts use a broader or unclear measure, so they do not replace the AP estimates of people covered by the protections due to end on October 19.

The immediate effect is that people covered by the two designations retain protection and work authorization while the government’s next action remains pending. Global Refuge welcomed the reprieve but called for a formal decision, saying beneficiaries, their dependents and employers need certainty.

A statutory rule is relevant, but no new end date was announced i

The timing also raises a statutory question. The AP reported that federal law provides for a six-month automatic extension when the homeland security secretary does not make a determination at least 60 days before a designation period ends. The scheduled end date for both protections was October 19, 2026.

That rule is relevant to the timing, but the interim government statement did not announce a new end date or explain how USCIS would document the rule’s application in this case. The six-month period should therefore not be read as a separately announced DHS deadline. The public statement instead said covered people would retain protection pending further announcements.

For people covered by TPS, their families and employers, the distinction is between continued protection now and a later formal decision that would establish the next designation terms. USCIS’s country pages described work authorization as continuing during the interim period, but did not provide a date for a later announcement.