AURORA | Aurora Democratic Congressperson Jason Crow is behind a House bill that would extend through 2029 temporary immigration protections for Ukrainian nationals living in the United States.
Crow’s bill would extend Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Ukrainians currently in the U.S. The protections are scheduled to expire Oct. 19, 2026, according to a press statement from Crow.
“Russia continues its illegal and unprovoked attacks on Ukraine,” Crow said in a statement. “America must continue to stand with the people of Ukraine.” The legislation would make the extension part of federal law rather than leaving the protections subject to presidential action, the release said.
President Donald Trump and his administration has created intense worry and consternation among immigrants living in the United States and benefiting from TPS protections.
“I think that TPS should be a part of a long overdue comprehensive immigration reform by Congress but until then, we owe it to those who are in the country under TPS to extend their status,” Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said in a statement. “It would be heartless to force the Ukrainians back into a war zone. So I applaud Congressman Crow’s efforts to extend their status, although having been a member of Congress for 10 years, I know how difficult it will be to pass and… to have President Trump sign it into law when he already has the authority to extend it, unilaterally, without Congressional approval. “
On Sept. 9, Trump let expire TPS protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrations, primarily from Venezuela and El Salvador. The Supreme Court earlier this year ruled that, under current U.S. law, the president has authority to end TPS protections for protected groups without justification.
TPS allows nationals of designated countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions to remain temporarily in the United States and obtain work authorization. The program requires recipients to undergo screening, according to the release.
Crow introduced the bill with representatives Bill Keating, D-Mass., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. In the Senate, the legislation was introduced by senators Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Chris Coons, D-Del.; and Bill Cassidy, R-La.
Crow serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Armed Services Committee, according to the release.
He has been a supporter of U.S. assistance to Ukraine since before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Crow traveled to Kyiv in December 2021 and later advocated for U.S. military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, according to his office.
The legislation would apply to Ukrainian nationals already covered by TPS and extend their protections through June 2029.
The measure does not address another TPS warranty, covering immigrants from Sudan, also set to expire Oct. 19.
Colorado is home to about 17,000-18,000 Ukrainian immigrants, according to the U.S. Census records. The Aurora-Denver metro area is home to as many as about 5,000 of those immigrants, according to Census records.
Temporary legal protections for about 200,000 immigrants from El Salvador — including more than 4,000 in Aurora — was in limbo Wednesday as a deadline neared for the Trump administration to decide if they should end, as it has done for hundreds of thousands from Venezuela, Haiti and other countries.
The Temporary Protected Status designation expired in September, but the statute does not give a specific time for when that happens. If the Department of Homeland Security takes no action, protections are automatically extended for six months. This rare reprieve happened in May, when the protections were automatically extended to about 11,000 Lebanese, allowing them to stay and work in the U.S. for another 180 days.
DHS said in a statement in early September that it will announce a decision on El Salvador “at the appropriate time” and that protections would remain in place until then.
The push against Salvadoran immigrants drew a rebuke from Coffman, a Republican.
“I fully support the Trump administration’s successful effort at controlling our borders to combat illegal immigration,” Coffman said earlier this year in a social media post. “But this is not a question about illegal immigration because the Salvadorans, living in Aurora under TPS, came here legally and have had children and even grandchildren here, own homes in our city, and have not only started but expanded small businesses here.”
About 200,000 people from El Salvador have lived in the U.S. since 2001 under TPS, which allows people already in the country to remain with work permits for renewable periods of up to 18 months, if the secretary of homeland security determines conditions are unsafe for return. They are eligible for work permits.
Crow agreed with Coffman at the time that the situation of the El Salvadoran immigrants and refugees stands apart.
“Immigrants and asylum seekers who come here legally – including through Temporary Protected Status – work, pay taxes, and contribute greatly to Colorado,” Crow said. “It’s important for Coloradans to remember how we got here. President Trump and Republicans cut healthcare and food assistance to give tax breaks to billionaires and hire thousands of poorly trained ICE agents. Their aggressive immigration tactics and mass deportations have hurt our economy, terrorized our communities, and separated families. Coloradans deserve a secure border, an orderly asylum process for those fleeing violence, and a path for workers, families, and children to earn citizenship.”
During President Donald Trump’s second term, Homeland Security has ended TPS for more than 1 million people from 14 countries, including El Salvador, Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Syria. Only about 103,000 from three countries remain protected with termination dates in October for Ukraine and Sudan, and November for Lebanon.
The Trump administration obtained a major victory when the Supreme Court ruled in June that Homeland Security acted within its authority by ending TPS for about 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. The impact of the decision extends far beyond Haitians and Syrians, potentially affecting nearly 1.3 million people from 17 countries on TPS.
TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters or civil strife.
It was granted to El Salvador following two devastating 2001 earthquakes that left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Just before leaving office, President Joe Biden extended TPS for El Salvador for 18 months to Sept. 9, 2026.
The vast majority of Salvadoran TPS holders have children born in the U.S. Many have lost their jobs and fear being detained, separated from their American family members, and deported to a country they barely know.
— The Associated Press contributed to this story.