A newly released Biden White House memo shows advisers urged the outgoing president to shield more than 3 million noncitizens from deportation just before leaving office.
Quick Take
- Senator Eric Schmitt released a Biden-era memo written in the administration’s final days.
- The memo reportedly floated expanding Temporary Protected Status to over 3 million people from countries like Venezuela, Ukraine, and Afghanistan.
- Advisers noted courts had already blocked some of Trump’s past efforts to end similar protections.
- Schmitt says the plan was designed to hand Trump a bigger immigration mess on day one.
- The senator has since pushed Senate floor fights and new legislation to reverse these protections.
Memo Surfaces From Biden’s Final Days in Office
Senator Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican, released an internal memo written by Biden’s senior advisers during the administration’s last days in power. The memo laid out a plan to expand Temporary Protected Status, a program meant for short-term crises, to cover millions more noncitizens before Trump took office.
According to Schmitt, the memo listed specific numbers by country. Advisers discussed adding protections for people from Guatemala, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ukraine, Sudan, and Afghanistan, pushing the total pool of shielded noncitizens above 3 million. Fox News first reported the document’s contents after Schmitt made it public.
Bombshell memo shows Biden planned to leave Trump with even more massive immigration crisis | Charles Creitz, Fox News
A newly-uncovered Biden White House memo from the administration's final days revealed plans that could have expanded Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to more… https://t.co/RWpebkqhtO
— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) July 25, 2026
A Program Built for Emergencies, Used for Years
Temporary Protected Status was created so the government could quickly protect people from countries hit by war, natural disaster, or other short-term crises. Critics on both sides of the aisle have long complained that the program rarely stays “temporary.” Extensions often stretch on for years, turning emergency relief into something closer to permanent status.
The memo reportedly acknowledged that federal courts had already blocked several of Trump’s first-term attempts to end TPS designations. That detail suggests Biden’s advisers knew expanding the program late in his term would make it much harder for Trump to reverse quickly, since any changes would likely face fresh legal challenges.
Schmitt Frames the Memo as Deliberate Strategy
Schmitt has described the document as proof the outgoing administration acted with intent, not just routine policy management. He said the plan aimed to lock in protections that would tie the new administration’s hands and expand the number of noncitizens shielded from removal before Trump could act.
Some commentators have pushed back on the “bombshell” framing, noting that TPS extensions and redesignations fall within the Secretary of Homeland Security’s normal legal authority. That means the memo describes lawful discretion, even if critics view the timing and scale as a political maneuver.
Schmitt’s Broader Fight Over Immigration Protections
This is not Schmitt’s first clash over TPS. He recently blocked a Democratic effort on the Senate floor to extend protected status for more than 350,000 Haitians living in the United States, arguing the program had drifted far from its original emergency purpose.
Schmitt has also introduced the Protect America Act, a broader plan to end sanctuary cities, toughen penalties for illegal entry, and support law enforcement agencies dealing with immigration cases. He separately proposed expanding expedited removal to close a two-year protection window for people who crossed the border under Biden.
Why This Fight Matters to Voters on Both Sides
The dispute taps into a frustration shared across the political spectrum: a sense that outgoing officials can quietly lock in policies that outlast their time in office. Whether voters see the memo as a lawful use of executive power or a last-minute maneuver, it feeds broader doubts about whether Washington answers to the public or to its own political goals.
Schmitt has framed the memo as one piece of a larger pattern, tying it to recent unrest and enforcement fights he says trace back to years of loosened border policy under Biden. Whatever side voters take, the memo adds fresh fuel to an immigration debate that shows no sign of cooling down.
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, foxnews.com, youtube.com, justthenews.com, pjmedia.com, schmitt.senate.gov, noticias.foxnews.com, quiverquant.com