The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday night that it is ending protected immigration status for Nicaraguans in the Temporary Protected Status program.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) gives some 300,000 immigrants permission to legally live and work in the United States when environmental disaster or armed conflict would place them in danger if they were to return to their native countries.

Immigrants from Nicaragua who are in the program have until January 5, 2019 to leave the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security says.

The Trump administration said it still needs more time to determine the fate of some 57,000 Hondurans living in the United Sates.

TPS also covers individuals from Nepal, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia.

The program ended for Sudan in September, and decisions on the remaining countries are expected in the coming months.

Immigrants, allies, and elected officials had rallied in Lower Manhattan on Monday, demanding protection for hundreds of thousands of immigrants.

"These are individuals who have made this country their home. They've bought house here, they're our neighbors, they're our community members, and we really need to make sure that we protect them," said Anu Joshi, the director of immigration policy for the New York Immigration Coalition. "This administration is threatening to break apart families by ending the TPS program."

On Friday, the State Department issued a recommendation that the Department of Homeland Security not renew the program for people from Haiti and parts of Central America.