Quilen Blackwell, whose nonprofit Southside Blooms transforms vacant lots on Chicago’s South Side into flower farms that employ at-risk young people, is the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year.

Temporary protected status (TPS) is a designation the U.S. government gives for countries it deems too dangerous to humanely send its citizens back to. Eligible migrants from designated countries can apply for protections from deportation if they arrived in the U.S. by a certain date.