WASHINGTON — More than three weeks have passed since the deadline for extending or revoking temporary protections against deportation for around 170,000 immigrants from El Salvador. The Trump administration still has not reached a decision, leading to uncertainty within the Salvadoran community and raising questions about the reasons for the delay.
The deportation reprieve is known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Approximately 1.3 million people from 17 countries had TPS when President Trump returned to office last year, with Salvadorans making up the largest group of remaining beneficiaries.
Thousands of Salvadoran immigrants nationwide faced uncertainty after the federal government did not decide by a Wednesday deadline whether to extend or terminate their longstanding temporary protections against deportation.
When TPS expiration deadlines approached for other groups, the administration made decisions within days. For instance, Haitians lost their TPS protections and were encouraged to leave the country, with some being deported.
Currently, Salvadoran immigrants are in limbo. Many have managed to keep their jobs, although others were laid off due to the lack of an official work permit extension.
Last month, administration officials indicated that an announcement regarding TPS for Salvadorans would come “at the appropriate time” and that they would retain work authorization in the meantime. When asked for updated guidance on Friday, a Homeland Security spokesperson reiterated the same statement.
The Department of Homeland Security had been prepared to end TPS protections for Salvadorans but was reportedly halted by the White House, according to Politico.
One theory regarding the delay suggests political considerations; extending the deportation reprieve could make the administration appear weak on immigration to its conservative base, particularly ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Another theory posits that ending TPS could negatively impact El Salvador’s economy, which relies heavily on remittances from Salvadorans in the U.S. President Nayib Bukele, an ally of Trump, has advocated for more time, as reported by Politico.
Additionally, the White House was warned that canceling TPS for Salvadorans could disrupt construction projects in Washington, D.C., according to the New Yorker, and a source confirmed that such warnings had occurred. A White House official stated that “any assertion Washington D.C. construction projects had anything to do with a decision about El Salvador TPS are false.”
Samuel Gonzalez Terrones, 21, has struggled with mental health issues, exacerbated by his mother’s arrest by ICE. The Washington region has the second-largest Salvadoran population in the U.S., after Los Angeles, and the construction industry relies significantly on workers with TPS.
Trump is overseeing a significant aesthetic makeover of the nation’s capital, including a $600-million ballroom complex at the White House and renovations at various national landmarks. Contracts for sensitive locations, such as the White House, typically require workers to be U.S. citizens. A White House official stated that no individuals with TPS status are working on the East Wing Modernization construction project.
Regarding other projects in the district, a Department of Interior spokesperson indicated that contractors must ensure all workers are legally permitted to work in the U.S. “The Department has not had any conversations about TPS or how it relates to construction projects around the city,” the spokesperson wrote.
People with TPS do work in other federal facilities. Lauren Truslow, chief executive of 3D Enviro, a Virginia company, mentioned that some of her employees affected by the TPS expiration for El Salvador had their federal badges reinstated temporarily but missed several days of work due to the uncertainty.
TPS allows immigrants to obtain work permits and other documents, but the uncertain status has led to conflicting actions by government agencies and employers. Advocates for TPS holders noted that some states have refused to renew their driver’s licenses, while others have provided renewals for varying lengths of time. Truslow reported that some of her employees received federally noncompliant driver’s licenses, which are not valid for entry into federal facilities.
“At least they’re here in this community and they weren’t forced to leave,” she stated. “I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I think there were ramifications with the decision and still there’s uncertainty.”
Truslow added that her workers could seek an approval extension for their badges that would last until March. Arnoldo Diaz, co-coordinator of the National TPS Alliance, an advocacy group, stated that ending TPS would be detrimental, asserting that “D.C. can’t function without TPS.”
More than 25,000 individuals have been expelled to ‘third countries’ under Trump, including to dangerous and conflict-ridden nations such as the Central African Republic.
Rebecca Shi, executive director of the American Business Immigration Coalition, has engaged in ongoing discussions with Homeland Security and White House leaders regarding TPS. She emphasized that Salvadorans possess decades of experience in the construction industry, which would be difficult to replace quickly.
“Many are managers and business owners themselves, running large projects,” she noted. “It’s a level of skill set and longtime loyalty that cannot be replaced overnight. Because the president has been in this industry for five decades, he instinctively knows that.”
Economic considerations, along with polls indicating that Latino voters believe Trump has gone too far with immigration enforcement, are significant factors influencing the situation, Shi stated.
Roxy Mejia, political director of a local painters union in Washington, reported that 67% of the 1,500 members are Latino and many are Salvadoran TPS holders. Mejia shared that she and her father immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador in 1985, prior to the establishment of TPS.
Under this administration, some Salvadorans with TPS have declined government contract jobs due to fears of detention, she mentioned. “Even the contractors have lobbied with us to keep TPS extending, because they would lose a lot of manpower in this area,” she said.