Jesus Romero is playing with his daughter Jayleen on their porch in Chelsea. As she debates whether to keep playing with her doll or go kick a soccer ball in the yard, Romero is trying his best to be present in the moment.

Jayleen has Down syndrome and goes to a private school that supports her needs. Romero works early mornings at a produce center to pay for her education and their other living expenses. But now, he’s worried about the potential loss of temporary protected status that has allowed him to live legally in the United States.

The legal status was developed for immigrants whose countries of origin are unsafe to return to. Individuals who want to renew TPS and maintain legal status must re-register with the federal government, with the with the latest re-registration period going through July 5, 2025.

The Trump administration has neither extended nor cancelled the status, even though the July 5 date has been long known. That’s left tens of thousands of Hondurans with TPS — including at least 2,500 in Massachusetts — waiting for news.

“As of now, if the government does not respond by July 5th, an automatic six-month extension of TPS for Honduras will take effect,” said Doris Landaverde from the Massachusetts TPS Committee. “Alternatively, if the government does respond, as it did in the case of Nepal, they might grant only 60 days after the termination of TPS.”

If TPS recipients get an automatic extension for six months, that extension is intended for them to prepare to leave the country, said Jose Uria, coordinator for the same organization.

“Those six months are for people to find other types of immigration relief and status, or to leave the country voluntarily,” he said. “It’s a very difficult and sad situation — because the administration wants to cancel the program.”

For months, the organization has petitioned legislators and the Department of Homeland Security to extend the program, to no avail.

U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services and the Department of Homeland Security did not reply to request for comment on whether they plan to extend the program.

Romero came to Massachusetts in the 1980s after he was approached to join a gang but didn’t want to as a young student.

“Here in America, they will respect your rights, human rights, so I came here,” he said.

He has worked for 27 years in the same place, taken English classes and raised his 21-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter here with his wife. He’s nervous about losing work authorization, and potentially being separated from his family.

“When I think about it, it gives me an attack in my heart,” he said. “My daughter is very attached to me. I don’t want to think of the reality of being deported. A separation like that ... it’s like half of you is being taken, as a father.”

He said he’s concerned that local Hondurans will be detained without having valid licenses after July 5.

Younger Honduran TPS holders are also anxious about the uncertainty.

Jackey Baiza was 3 years old when she immigrated to the U.S. with her mom in 1998. They fled Honduras after a hurricane devastated the country. She’s had temporary protected status for about 27 years, she said, with renewals every two years, including fees and paperwork to do that. She’s part of Centro Presente, a group focused on helping immigrant women, including those with TPS.

“They can say, 'We did make a decision about TPS and we’re immediately gonna cancel it,'” she said. “If the latter happens, then yes, I immediately — and everyone with Honduran TPS — immediately becomes illegal in this country. And we lose our work authorizations. We lose our ability to support ourselves, support our families.”

Baiza works in human resources and is getting her bachelor’s degree at UMass Amherst for business administration. She’s also getting a human resources-related certification next month.

She’s concerned her ID won’t be valid when she goes to take the certification exam, and that her work permit and legal status will jeopardize her education and job.

“I live in an apartment with my sister and my niece, who’s 4 years old. I largely contribute to our rent here,” she said. “And so what that means is if I don’t no longer have income, then the housing becomes a challenge for my sister.”

One option available for TPS holders with U.S. citizen children is to have them petition for permanent residency — or a green card, on their behalf. To do this, the TPS holder needs to have no criminal record or immigration issues.

Uria said it is also unclear whether there will be a focus on deportation after July 5 for people who don’t technically have valid IDs.

“ICE is doing things that are unprecedented,” he said. “We don’t know what will happen.”