The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

States consider protecting benefits for DACA and TPS immigrants facing loss of status

By
February 17, 2018 at 2:43 p.m. EST
Manuel Lopez, who has temporary protected status, is worried he could lose his driver’s license because of changes in immigration policies. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)

State lawmakers in Virginia and across the country are weighing a host of bills aimed at preserving driver’s licenses and other benefits for undocumented immigrants who may lose the protected status long afforded them by the federal government.

Immigrants from Central America, Haiti and Sudan will see their temporary protected status expire over the next 18 months, while the fate of 690,000 participants in the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program remains deeply uncertain after bills to protect “dreamers” failed in Congress this week.