DHS Secretary Kristjen Nielsen announced on Monday that the government will not renew the Temporary Protected Status for the country of El Salvador. El Salvador first received the status in 2001 after two earthquakes. TPS status will end on Sept. 9, 2019.
TPS provides temporary legal status and work permits to foreign citizens whose home countries have faced unexpected events from armed conflicts to natural disasters and is only supposed to last six-months to 18-months. However, there is no limit to the number of times TPS status can be renewed by the government.
“By ending the Salvadoran TPS, Sec. Nielsen has taken a major step toward saving the TPS program so it can be used for future emergencies,” said NumbersUSA President Roy Beck. “The past practice of allowing foreign nationals to remain in the United States long after an initial emergency in their home countries has ended has undermined the integrity of the program and essentially made the "temporary" protected status a front operation for backdoor permanent immigration. If TPS cannot be operated according to its original intent and design, the program should be eliminated completely. Sec. Nielsen's decision suggests it may be possible to justify continuation of the program."
Nielsen determined that TPS for Salvadorans is no longer necessary, as conditions in their country have significantly improved since the 2001 earthquakes.
For more on Secretary Nielsen's determination, see this press release.
