The Indicator from Planet Money · Wednesday, August 5, 2026
The Trump administration has been systematically dismantling Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program that allows foreign nationals from designated countries to live and work legally in the U.S. due to unsafe conditions in their home countries. This action affects roughly one million workers, with significant implications for their livelihoods and the U.S. economy.
“What happens when roughly a million people working legally in the US suddenly lose the right to stay here? That is what we're in the process of finding out.”
“The Trump administration is dismantling temporary protected status or TPS. It's a humanitarian designation that protects certain foreign nationals, regardless of immigration status, from deportation because their home country isn't safe.”
“It's pretty dramatic. I so we've definitely on on, you know, an immigration, I I it's hard to think of a precedent for this where, you know, yeah, roughly, you know, close to a million workers, suddenly becoming ineligible to work.”