For 19 years, the US government had given Patricia Carbajal permission to stay in this country, to work, to put down roots. For 19 years, administration after administration extended Temporary Protected Status for Honduras after the destruction wrought by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 was compounded by crippling poverty, destabilizing corruption, and violence so pervasive that the murder rate in Honduras is now among the highest in the world. After 19 years, Patricia’s status had long ago stopped feeling temporary. But, now, in a moment, everything could change. Now, the Trump administration has canceled the program that had allowed her to create a life as a mother, a construction worker, a budding activist. Over seven months, she watched as the federal government rescinded Temporary Protected Status for country after country, stripping the legal right to live and work in the United States from some 250,000 people who were expected to renew their status. South Sudan. Nicaragua. Haiti. El Salvador. Nepal. She was about to learn that Honduras would be next.
Patricia Carbajal fled Honduras 19 years ago and has been living in the United States legally under Temporary Protected Status, working, paying taxes, and passing a criminal background check every 18 months. A number of countries have had their TPS status revoked. On the day of the announcement of the future of the Honduras program, she anxiously hugged her 4-year-old daughter, Camila, in their kitchen. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)
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Big Picture
