London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

There Would Be Nothing Temporary About TPS for Hong Kong Residents

There Would Be Nothing Temporary About TPS for Hong Kong Residents

This week, the House of Representatives is set to consider H.R. 8428, the "Hong Kong People's Freedom and Choice Act of 2020", sponsored by Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.).

The bill is a reaction to the heavy-handedness exhibited by the People's Republic of China (PRC) over the last several months, after enacting a Hong Kong National Security Act that contravenes the conditions under which the PRC regained control of Hong Kong from Great Britain.

The National Security Act was designed to repress the traditionally democratic and representative legislature of Hong Kong and ensure seating of only those legislators sympathetic to PRC goals and policies. Many pro-democracy demonstrators have been arrested and charged; some have disappeared.

H.R. 8428 would grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to:

*  Any long-time resident of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Area who "holds no right to citizenship in any country or jurisdiction other than" the PRC, Hong Kong, or Macau;

*  Plus their spouses;

*  And any unmarried children up to the age of 27.

The bill has a variety of problems. In a July blog post, I discussed many reasons why permitting wholesale immigration of Hong Kong residents was inherently flawed and would represent a national security risk to the United States — not least among them being that we cannot presume that all Hong Kong residents are anti-PRC, pro-democracy advocates.

That the Chinese Communist Party would use a bill like Malinowski's to insert its own spies and agents of influence into the American Chinese community is beyond question.

As if to reinforce this point, a few weeks after my blog post on Hong Kong, the FBI announced the arrest of Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, a native of Hong Kong who immigrated to the U.S. and naturalized, then infiltrated the CIA and later worked for the FBI, all while spying for the PRC.

Informed observers commenting on the blog I wrote about Ma noted that the mysterious unindicted co-conspirator in the case was likely his brother (also a double agent who worked for the CIA until cashiered for alien smuggling).

Another point to consider regarding H.R. 8428: Many people mistakenly believe that "Hong Kong" consists only of one small but relatively crowded island by that name that hangs off the underbelly of China proper.

In fact, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) consists of multiple islands and even a chunk of the mainland itself, comprising approximately 1,108 square kilometers and a population of 7.5 million.

When you include citizens of the politically and geographically separate Macau SAR (a former Portuguese, not British, colony) into the mix, as this bill does, you've potentially added a substantial portion of roughly 650,000 more individuals — an eye-popping possible 8.15 million persons who might be eligible for benefits under this bill. Even if we were to halve that figure, it's staggering.

No doubt advocates for this bill will insist that it doesn't authorize permanent immigration, but "only" TPS. That, of course, is a canard. The whole history of how TPS has been administered shows us that, as Mark Krikorian has noted, there's nothing so permanent as temporary status.

Hundreds of thousands of alien recipients of TPS from various countries have now been here for decades, and mounted innumerable legal battles to be allowed to remain in perpetuity and granted amnesty.

TPS is by any measure a failed legal mechanism that has simply added to the collective burden of unrestrained immigration to the United States, including by individuals who entered illegally and otherwise would have no footing to stay.

Finally, when considering the bill, it's worth looking at the TPS statute itself, 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1254A, which speaks consistently of granting of TPS only in circumstances that reflect a temporary condition. Take for instance, Subsection (b)(1)(C):

(b) In general

The Attorney General, after consultation with appropriate agencies of the Government, may designate any foreign state (or any part of such foreign state) under this subsection only if—
...

(C) the Attorney General finds that there exist extraordinary and temporary conditions in the foreign state that prevent aliens who are nationals of the state from returning to the state in safety, unless the Attorney General finds that permitting the aliens to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States. [Emphasis added.]

While it's clear that Congress need not bind itself to the rules it established for the attorney general (now the Secretary of Homeland Security), the cogent question is this:

Can anyone in Congress — or indeed anywhere — say with a straight face that the steps the PRC has taken in Hong Kong represent a temporary condition? What are the chances that the Chinese Communist Party will change its mind, unbend, and return Hong Kong's legislature and government to the status quo ante?

Considered in that light, it's abundantly clear that the TPS designation used by Rep. Malinowski is a fig leaf to grant hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Hong Kong residents (who may in fact be PRC citizens) permanent entry into the United States. But were he honest about it, it's likely the bill would fail.

The bill is a potential national security disaster in the making for our country, and if it passes, the intelligence organs of the PRC and its People's Liberation Army will be delighted at the opportunities it spawns.

A legal mechanism already exists in the law for Hong Kong residents who are at risk of persecution: They make seek to enter as refugees.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×