Congress moves to strip work permits from 400,000 immigrants without replacement protection

What it does

This bill prohibits the federal government from spending any money to operate the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) program, which allows the President to defer removal of certain foreign nationals whose home countries cannot safely accept them back. The bill argues DED lacks congressional authorization and duplicates Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a congressionally-created program with similar protections, and asserts that immigration authority belongs to Congress, not the President alone.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a spending prohibition—no federal funds may be used for DED. The stated rationale is constitutional (reasserting congressional plenary power over immigration), but the practical effect is to eliminate a humanitarian deferral program. The bill is transparent about what it does (defund DED) and why (constitutional objection to executive-only immigration relief), but the civic consequence is the loss of protection for a large vulnerable population.

What the text implies

• Elimination of DED would immediately strip work authorization from ~400,000–500,000 beneficiaries, many of whom have U.S. citizen or permanent-resident family members, potentially triggering family separation and economic disruption.
• The bill assumes Congress will replace DED with TPS designations for the same populations, but TPS requires affirmative congressional or executive action and has historically faced political resistance; no guarantee of replacement coverage exists.
• DED beneficiaries currently have access to travel documents and work permits; loss of DED status without TPS replacement would render them deportable and unable to work legally, even if their home countries remain unsafe.
• The bill does not address the status of DED beneficiaries' U.S.-born children or other family members with independent immigration status, creating potential family-separation scenarios.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill would eliminate a humanitarian protection program that currently shields approximately 400,000–500,000 people from deportation, many of whom have lived and worked in the U.S. for decades. While the bill frames this as a constitutional matter of congressional authority, the practical effect is to strip work authorization and removal protection from vulnerable populations—including nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or political instability—unles

Named in the bill

Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of State, Attorney General, President of the United States, China, Kuwait, El Salvador, Haiti, Liberia, Venezuela — and 3 more

Where it stands

6 cosponsors: 6 Republicans.

• Jun 26, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jun 26, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.