“The United States supports the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the residents of Hong Kong. The People’s Republic of China has continued to significantly erode those rights and freedoms,” Biden said in the memorandum.

“I am therefore directing an extension and expansion of the deferral of removal of certain Hong Kong residents, regardless of country of birth, who are present in the United States.”

The extension of the DED prevents the removal of Hong Kongers who overstay their visas for an additional two years, until Feb. 5, 2027. Biden initially deferred removal for 18 months, which he extended an additional 24 months in January 2023. That extension was set to expire Jan. 26, six days after he is to leave office and President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.

Under the program, those who have voluntarily returned to Hong Kong or China or have not continuously resided in the United States since January 2023 are among those ineligible for the protection, along with individuals convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors in the United States.

The Biden administration has responded to China’s erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong with sanctions and other punitive measures since Beijing’s imposition of the national security law in the summer of 2020. The law criminalizes broadly defined acts of secession, sedition, subversion, terrorism and working with foreign agencies to undermine the national security of China in Hong Kong.

Critics had warned that the law would chill dissent and dampen the once celebrated democracy in Hong Kong. Since its imposition, police have continued to arrest opposition politicians activists and protesters under its authority.

According to Biden’s memorandum, more than 10,000 people have been arrested for charges in connection to anti-government protests. Meanwhile, China has continued to undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy and remaining democratic processes and institutions while limiting academic freedom and the freedom of the press, the president said.

Biden stated that the “compelling foreign policy” reason for deferring the enforced deportation of Hong Kong residents is that the United States “is committed to a foreign police that unites our democratic values with our foreign policy goals, which is centered on the defense of democracy and the promotion of human rights around the world.”

“Offering safe haven for Hong Kong residents who have been deprived of their guaranteed freedoms in Hong Kong furthers United States interests in the region,” he said. “The United States will not waver in our support of people in Hong Kong.”

The announcement comes after the Hong Kong Police Force, on Christmas Eve, issued bounties of nearly $130,000 for six activists who have fled overseas and are wanted in Hong Kong on allegations of violating the National Security Law. At least three of the wanted activists reside in the United States.

Anna Kwok, executive direct of the U.S.-based Hong Kong Democracy Council and who is wanted by police in Hong Kong, celebrated the DED extension online, stating it “will give thousands of Hong Kongers in the U.S. a good night sleep tonight, knowing they do not have to worry temporarily about getting deported by the U.S. government and arrested by the Hong Kong government.”

“The two-year extension will continue to offer a crucial lifeline for eligible Hong Kongers to remain in the United States — a haven from political persecution in today’s repressive Hong Kong,” she said on X, while warning that the DED program is only a temporary solution to what she described as a long-term problem.

“A viable and sustainable solution should be identified and developing in the next few years, especially when political prisoners begin to be released.”

The announce came just days after the Democrat-led Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent Biden a letter encouraging him to extend the program.