SAN DIEGO, CA — The Trump administration announced today that it will end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 200,000 Salvadorans who have been living, working and raising their families in the United States for 17 years. Their status will effectively end in 18 months.

El Salvador cannot handle the return of hundreds of thousands of its citizens given the country’s violence, corruption, narcotics trafficking and the inability of its weak government institutions to accommodate a massive influx of people. Fortunately, Congress can fix this: multiple bills with bipartisan support have been introduced to create a permanent solution for Salvadorans and other TPS holders. Congress should get to work on this immediately.

Laura Moreno, Chair of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium, issued the following statement:

“This cruel decision will upend the lives of hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans and their U.S. born children at a time when El Salvador continues to be plagued by violence and corruption and is in no condition to receive them. These are hardworking individuals who pay taxes and contribute to our communities and economy. Many are helping in the recovery efforts in Florida and Houston following the hurricanes. They are parents to nearly 275,000 U.S. citizen children and there is no plan to address the break up of these families. San Diego is a thriving and diverse city thanks in part to the contributions of immigrants and refugees who call this place home. We must continue to support these families, and Congress must now act for a permanent solution.”

About the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium

The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium is a project of Alliance San Diego. Since 2007, community, faith, labor, and legal organizations have come together as the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC). Through SDIRC, these organizations are pursuing four common goals: support comprehensive immigration reform; stop the spread of local policies and practices that target and violate the civil and human rights of immigrants; educate immigrants, and educate the public about the important contributions of immigrants. More at www.immigrantsandiego.org.