UnidosUS: Upending the Lives of TPS Holders from El Salvador is Not the Path Forward

WASHINGTON, DC—UnidosUS (formerly NCLR) condemned the Trump administration’s failure to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants, many of who have been residing in the U.S. for nearly 20 years. Today’s announcement is in keeping with the administration’s continued anti-immigrant crusade, having ended similar protections for Nicaraguan and Haitian TPS beneficiaries in November despite the precarious conditions still facing both countries.

El Salvador was designated by the U.S. government for TPS in 2001 after being struck by a series of earthquakes, and today represents one of the three countries with the largest share of TPS holders. There are an estimated 195,000 Salvadoran TPS holders living in the United States. As we’ve noted before, the decision to end TPS for El Salvador is not only economically foolish, but it will also upend the lives of hundreds of thousands of mixed-status families. In fact, it is estimated that Salvadoran TPS holders, alone, are parents to 192,000 U.S.-citizen children. Today’s action is yet another move to tear families apart.

“These individuals are taxpayers and employers. They are homeowners, good neighbors and parents of American children. Yet, despite a chorus of opposition from elected officials and business, religious, civil rights and community leaders around the nation and around the globe, the Department of Homeland Security has moved forward with a decision that does nothing more than harm our country, our allies, and endanger the lives of individuals who are making measurable contributions to this country,” said UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía.

“We urge Congress to act and push forward a legislative solution to right this wrong,” concluded Murguía.