Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador

The Trump administration has decided not to extend the designation of El Salvador as a Temporary Protected Status (TPS)-designated country. The Secretary of Homeland Security’s decision not to extend TPS puts some 200,000 Salvadorans residing in the United States at risk of deportation.

Most of the Salvadorans facing possible deportation are parents to U.S.-born children and have known no home other than the United States for almost two decades. The TPS statute clearly provides the Trump Administration with the legal authority to extend TPS for 18 months in this particular circumstance, and humanitarian, human rights and ethical imperatives – as well as the promotion of peace and stability in El Salvador – demand that TPS be renewed and that Salvadoran beneficiaries and their families not be forced to return.   

This policy brief outlines the findings from a field mission to Central America, undertaken by Refugees International in November 2017. The report provides a fact-based and realistic assessment of the significant implications as the TPS designation for El Salvador is not renewed.

Cover Photo: Reuters