Why Trump Delayed Cancelling Legal Status for Salvadorans
The White House has quietly paused an order to end Temporary Protected Status for thousands of immigrants from El Salvador, a move that came after months of lobbying from the construction industry and other interest groups.
In the early days of Donald Trump's second term, an estimated one million immigrants from seventeen countries held Temporary Protected Status (T.P.S.), allowing them to reside and work legally in the United States without fear of arrest or deportation. Created in 1990, T.P.S. was designed to be temporary, requiring periodic renewals until the U.S. government deemed their home countries safe enough for return.
The first country to receive T.P.S. was El Salvador, following its twelve-year civil war. As calamities, such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the Syrian civil war, unfolded, immigrants from other nations also gained T.P.S. protection. Republican and Democratic administrations continued extending individual designations, with the El Salvador case being renewed in 2001 after a major earthquake.
Many T.P.S. recipients, like Eva, a Salvadoran mother of two, benefitted from the status. Upon moving to Florida at fifteen, Eva found herself no longer invisible in the immigration system. With a Social Security number and driver's license, her family purchased a car, secured a mortgage, and had children. However, the temporary nature of her status weighed heavily on her, but she knew she could not stop living her life.
When Trump attempted to cancel Salvadoran T.P.S. in 2018, Eva faced the possibility of her life being disrupted. Her husband was later deported, and she contemplated leaving the U.S. with her children, either to her current location or to her brother. Despite early readiness to inform T.P.S. holders of their impending loss of status, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chose to delay the announcement, citing the need for the White House's approval.
This decision puzzled observers, as the administration had previously terminated T.P.S. for other countries without similar hesitation. The Salvadoran government and U.S. advocacy groups both influenced the administration's decision, with the latter also pushing for more time to prepare. The absence of a public explanation from the White House left recipients in a state of uncertainty, as the timeline for their future in the U.S. remained unclear.
Written by urgent.news from The New Yorker's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
