US extends TPS for Lebanese citizens in US through November

US extends TPS for Lebanese citizens in US through November Submitted by Yasmine El-Sabawi on Thu, 05/28/2026 - 15:18 This is the first time the Trump administration has voluntarily extended protections for a group whose country is unsafe to return to A displaced Lebanese girl leans over a balcony at a school-turned shelter, near Sidon, Lebanon, on 17 May 2026 (Aziz Taher/Reuters) Off In an unexpected move this week, the Trump administration will announce that it is extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Lebanese citizens in the US for another six months, until November. The decision,  filed in the US Federal Register on Wednesday, is scheduled for publication on Friday.  It is the first voluntary extension of TPS carried out since President Donald Trump returned to power in January 2025. His attempts to terminate designations for citizens of Haiti, Somalia, and Venezuela, among others, have been halted - at least temporarily - by the courts. According to the filing, however, the rationale appears to be that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin has not had the capacity to review TPS for Lebanon and make a determination 60 days before the expiry date. That means TPS is automatically renewed for six months. An estimated 11,000 Lebanese nationals are covered under TPS, based on 2024 figures. The extension allows them to continue living and working legally in the US until 27 November. TPS is a designation for a limited period that allows non-citizens to obtain a US work permit while they await conditions to improve in their own countries, if they are deemed by the US government to be too dangerous to return to. It can be extended f...

Original source: Middle East Eye