WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US State Department says that more than 300,000 Central American and Haitian migrants no longer need special protected status, potentially opening the door for their repatriation, The Washington Post reported Friday.

The news came ahead of an expected decision by the Department of Homeland Security on whether it would renew Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the migrants in question.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson informed acting DHS chief Elaine Duke on Tuesday that economic, security and other conditions in those countries are no longer so dire that the migrants need to stay on in the United States, the Post reported, citing anonymous administration officials familiar with the assessment.

The DPS, which is required to seek the State Department’s input as part of its decision-making process, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A State Department official told AFP that no decisions have been announced, and declined to comment on “internal and interagency deliberation.”

The DHS has a Monday deadline to announce the fate of 57,000 Hondurans and 2,500 Nicaraguans whose TPS protections are set to expire in January, the Post said.

They were initially granted protected status in the US after Hurricane Mitch slammed Central America in 1998, with renewals granted following other natural disasters.

Most of the TPS migrants arrived in the United States illegally but were allowed to stay and work due to the instability in their home countries.

In the case of Haitians in the program, who number about 50,000, their status was granted following the 2010 earthquake that devastated the impoverished Caribbean nation.

 The largest group of TPS recipients — about 200,000 — are from El Salvador, according to the Post. DHS is meant to announce its decision on their status in early January.