Jesus Ramirez v. Linda Dougherty

OPINION

McKEOWN, Circuit Judge:

This appeal presents a question of statutory interpretation about the interplay between two subsections of the immigration code — one involving designation of Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) and the other involving adjustment of status. The Attorney General may grant TPS to an alien who cannot safely return home to a war-torn or disaster-ridden country. During the pendency of the TPS designation, the U.S. government may not send the alien back to the unsafe country.

Jesus Ramirez, who came to the United States from El Salvador in 1999, was granted TPS in 2001…