The termination of Temporary Protected Status for Honduran nationals means the end of legal work authorizations for more than 50,000 people who have lived and work in the U.S. for decades.
This includes two former Duke University campus employees originally from Honduras, who enjoyed two decades at their jobs as TPS recipients.
But now they're at risk of deportation, after establishing their homes and families here for more than 30 years, and having no criminal record.
Duke students with the group Duke Beyond Borders and the immigrant advocacy organization Siembra NC met with several Democratic lawmakers Wednesday at the General Assembly to ask them to intervene on behalf of former TPS holders, such as Margoth Erazo, a Duke housekeeping employee for 23 years.
"I love this country. I have to love it, because it's given us so many opportunities," said Erazo, in Spanish, at a news conference. "I've lived longer here than in Honduras. I hardly know that country anymore."
Erazo, 52, worked 23 years in housekeeping on Duke's campus at the John Hope Franklin Center.
There, she says she had the trust of Duke professors who would hire her at times to clean their homes on weekends, and also care for their children while they were out.
"Without these students I wouldn't have the strength I have to be here today," Erazo said.
Luis Juarez, a Honduran TPS holder beloved for his popular Duke campus "party bus" rides, lost his job after 19 years of employment. Duke students have also rallied to support him.
"They should be able to work with dignity and with the communities that they love and have cared for for so long," said Leila Zak, a Duke sophomore. "They should also not have to fear being ushered into detention centers and fear returning to (Honduras)."
Both Erazo and Juarez say they fear returning to Honduras, where they haven't lived for at least 30 years, and where they say violence and poverty would make life unsustainable for them.
They were briefly able to return to work following a federal court decision on Dec. 31 challenging the Trump Administration's decision, amid strong advocacy from Duke students and faculty.
But they've been been out of work since a Feb. 9 decision by a federal court of appeals affirmed the Trump Administration's original decision in September 2025 to terminate TPS for Hondurans, as well as Nicaraguans.
There are nearly 19,000 people in North Carolina from countries such as Venezuela, Haiti and El Salvador who received TPS, according to the American Immigration Council.
To have qualified for TPS, they must have lived continuously in the U.S. since at least 1999.
Siembra NC activists say they're seeking to get the attention of GOP congressmembers who could ask the Trump administration to grant an extension of protection from removal for TPS holders.
Under the Trump Administration, the Department of Homeland Security has moved to end TPS for twelve countries.
The U.S. Supreme Court announced this month that it will hear arguments on April 29 to preserve TPS for several thousand Syrians and 350,000 Haitians.
