DHS Delays TPS Decision for 170,000 Salvadorans as Sept. 9 Work Permit Deadline Hits
Updated
Updated · CNN · Sep 9
DHS Delays TPS Decision for 170,000 Salvadorans as Sept. 9 Work Permit Deadline Hits
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Sep 9
Summary
A DHS statement said Salvadorans under Temporary Protected Status remain protected for now, but gave no timeline for a decision after Wednesday’s scheduled end date.
USCIS guidance issued earlier this month says work permits expire Sept. 9, leaving 170,000 Salvadorans unsure whether they can keep working legally while they await a formal announcement.
The delay comes after a June Supreme Court decision cleared the way for the Trump administration to end TPS, and officials have already revoked protections for 13 countries, leaving El Salvador among just four still covered as of mid-August.
Advocates in Washington say the uncertainty is already pushing families to prepare for job losses and possible deportation, with unions warning hundreds of members in the DC area and thousands nationally could be affected.
The stakes extend beyond the US workforce to El Salvador, where remittances account for more than 25% of GDP and many TPS holders have built decades-long lives with US-citizen children.