WASHINGTON (TNND) — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday that deportation protections for thousands of Hondurans and Nicaraguans will be terminated.

The move means ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for citizens from those countries living in the United States and seeking a temporary safe haven from armed conflict, environmental disasters or other crises.

Citizens from Honduras and Nicaragua were granted TPS after Hurricane Mitch destroyed parts of Central America in 1998, killing more than 10,000.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in the official termination notices that TPS was no longer warranted due to improving conditions in the two countries.

Noem called Honduras "a wonderful partner of the Trump administration."

"Temporary Protected Status was designed to be just that—temporary,” Noem said. “It is clear that the Government of Honduras has taken all of the necessary steps to overcome the impacts of Hurricane Mitch, almost 27 years ago. Honduran citizens can safely return home, and DHS is here to help facilitate their voluntary return."

In a similar statement, Noem said the conditions in Nicaragua no longer meet the TPS statutory requirements.

"The environmental situation has improved enough that it is safe enough for Nicaraguan citizens to return home," the notice read. "This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that TPS remains temporary."

The move follows the Trump administration getting rid of TPS programs for immigrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said the move would separate families and hurt American businesses.

"These families have been here since the 1990s, working hard and contributing to our state and country for decades," she wrote on X. "Sending innocent families back into danger won’t secure our border or make America safer. All it does is tear apart communities and hurt our businesses."