Temporary protected status remains in effect until the Department of Homeland Security makes a further announcement
Salvadorans living in the United States under temporary protected status are facing uncertainty regarding the country’s continued designation, as they await an announcement from the Trump administration.
Temporary Protected Status allows citizens from other countries in unsafe conditions due to armed conflict or natural disasters to live and work in the U.S., and was set to expire on Wednesday for those from El Salvador. Salvadorans have been designated TPS recipients for the past 25 years, since earthquakes devastated the country in 2001.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that an update on Salvadorans’ status “will be made at the appropriate time. Until such announcement is made, Salvadoran individuals present in the U.S. under TPS retain protection including work authorization.”
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, if the Secretary of Homeland Security does not decide whether a country still qualifies for TPS at least 60 days before the country’s designation expires, it is automatically extended for six months. The DHS’ statement did not address this provision in the statute.
Mayor Karen Bass released a statement on Tuesday, speaking out against the potential cancellation of the legal status and work authorizations of Salvadorans, saying it would have significant consequences in Los Angeles.
“For more than a generation, Salvadoran Angelenos have been an essential part of the heart and soul of Los Angeles,” Bass said in a statement. “Salvadoran families have raised children, built businesses, paid taxes, strengthened our neighborhoods, and helped power our economy. They have not simply built lives in L.A., they have helped build L.A. itself.”
According to Bass, California is home to roughly 55,000 Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries, including thousands in L.A. This makes the state home to the highest concentration in the country, according to policy organization FWD.us. Bass called for action from Congress to protect their legal status.
“People who have lived, worked, raised families, and contributed to this country for decades deserve more than temporary protection that can be used as a political bargaining chip,” Bass said in the statement. “They deserve a permanent path to citizenship.”
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The Trump administration has already ended T.P.S. for 13 of the 17 countries that were covered at the beginning of his second term, amounting to about 1 million people according to the American Immigration Council. The Supreme Court ruled in June that the administration could end the program for Haitians and Syrians living in the U.S.
Bass said in a statement that L.A. will fight to protect its Salvadoran residents.
“Los Angeles will not stand by while our neighbors are pushed into the shadows,” Bass said. “Salvadoran Angelenos are not outsiders to this city. They are Los Angeles. And when their families are threatened, our city stands with them. We will stand with them in this fight, and we will not let them face it alone.”