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Inside, the building branches vertically and horizontally into hallways, offices, windows, courtrooms, and waiting rooms. There are few signs and few people you can ask for assistance or directions, so it’s easy to get lost. The building’s labyrinthine architecture is, in a

way, a replica of the U.S. immigration system. And, as in any labyrinth, some find their way out and some don’t. Those who don’t might remain there forever, invisible specters who go up and down elevators and wander the hallways, imprisoned in circular nightmares.

The problems posed by the temporary protective status program came into focus last week when the administration used executive authority to grant the status to as many as 300,000 Venezuelans and about 1,600 Burmese currently in the U.S. who are deemed unable to safely return home because of humanitarian emergencies in their countries. Activists and some elected Democrats are pushing the Biden administration to issue more TPS grants for immigrants whose home countries are suffering from war, natural disasters or other emergencies, including Haitians who arrived in the U.S. after 2011 and Cameroonians.

But right now, there is nothing to ensure that any of these immigrants will have a path to eventual citizenship. Although the House of Representatives is working on bills that would create such a path for those who already hold TPS — most prominently the Dream and Promise Act, which the House will vote on this week — those proposals do not apply to the people who are getting temporary status now, or who might get it in the future. This threatens to leave them in a state of uncertainty that has become all too common in the 30 years since Congress created the TPS program: The relief is often not exactly temporary, but it’s not exactly permanent either.

Thus, I would like to use the term “liminal legality” to express the temporariness of this condition, which for many Central Americans has extended indefinitely and has come to define their legal position. This “liminal legality” is characterized by its ambiguity, as it is neither an undocumented status nor a documented one, but may have the characteristics of both. Importantly, a situation of “liminal legality” is neither unidirectional nor a linear process, or even a phase from undocumented to documented status, for those who find themselves in it can return to an undocumented status when their temporary statuses end. When Central Americans are granted temporary legality, they are conferred the right to work and reside in the United States without access to social services. In some cases they are later given the opportunity to renew their permits. However, when the renewed permits expire, these immigrants slip back into the realm of nonlegality. Indeed, as Uriarte et al. (2003) observe in their Boston study, nonrenewal or denial of an application means an immediate return to undocumented status or deportation; thus, some immigrants do not apply for a temporary permit even if they are eligible. Of course, these individuals do not wait passively for their statuses to change. They look for other avenues to become permanent legal residents, such as applying for asylum (see Coutin 2000 b), resorting to marriage, or seeking legalization through work, but these efforts do not always work out.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas is designating Burma for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. This new designation of Burma for TPS enables Burmese nationals (and individuals without nationality who last habitually resided in Burma) currently residing in the United States to file initial applications for TPS, so long as they meet eligibility requirements.

“Due to the military coup and security forces’ brutal violence against civilians, the people of Burma are suffering a complex and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in many parts of the country,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “After a thorough review of this dire situation, I have designated Burma for Temporary Protected Status so that Burmese nationals and habitual residents may remain temporarily in the United States.”

Secretary Mayorkas decided to designate Burma for TPS after consultation with interagency partners and careful consideration of the extraordinary and temporary conditions in Burma caused by the coup, which has led to continuing violence, pervasive arbitrary detentions, the use of lethal violence against peaceful protesters, and intimidation of the people of Burma. The coup has worsened humanitarian conditions in several areas by limiting access to life-saving assistance, disrupting flights carrying humanitarian and medical aid, and spurring an economic crisis. Such conditions prevent Burmese nationals and habitual residents from returning safely. A country may be designated for TPS if the Secretary determines that current country conditions fall into one or more of the three statutory bases for designation: ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or extraordinary and temporary conditions.

Two years into an administration that faces legislative inaction and numerous legal challenges to its immigration agenda, the Temporary Protected Status program has emerged as a key tool for President Joe Biden.The program allows immigrants who cannot safely return to their home countries to work legally and avoid deportation for 18-month periods. And it allows Biden to unilaterally designate which countries are eligible, bypassing Congress. That has enabled Biden’s Department of Homeland Security to deliver immigration relief to hundreds of thousands of people, even as lawmakers fail to advance other immigration policies and Republican-led states use lawsuits to hamper other initiatives, including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Biden has more than doubled the number of immigrants eligible for TPS, according to an analysis from the Cato Institute. In January 2021, 411,326 people were eligible. That number has since risen to 986,881. And in 2023 — when a Republican-controlled House is unlikely to pursue any immigration overhaul — advocates and lawmakers want Biden to go even further.

“He has the power and the legal authority to expand TPS,” said José Palma, a TPS recipient from Massachusetts who immigrated from Honduras more than 20 years ago and advocates for broader TPS protections. “We feel that he should use it as an opportunity to say, ‘While we continue the conversation on finding a permanent solution, at least for people who are here, for people who qualify — we’re going to provide TPS.’”