TPS for El Salvador: Urgent Call for Salvadorans to Renew Before Deadline

• TPS: Last day to renew
• Trump intensifies immigration policy
• Bukele and Trump strengthen ties

This Tuesday is the deadline for more than 230,000 Salvadorans to renew their Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a key immigration benefit for their legal stay in the United States.

Organizations and activists fear that many beneficiaries will not renew in time, exposing them to possible deportation and the loss of their work permits.

The Salvadoran Association of Los Angeles (ASOSAL) has warned that those who do not renew will be in a vulnerable immigration situation.

«President Donald Trump has said that all undocumented individuals are the target of his massive deportation operations, so if Salvadorans do not renew their TPS for another 18 months they are at risk of being detained by immigration,» stated Teresa Tejada, director of ASOSAL.

Thousands of Salvadorans with TPS at risk due to misinformation and low renewal

According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), more than 232,000 Salvadorans are eligible to renew the benefit, extended until September 9, 2026, by the administration of Joe Biden.

Tejada expressed her «concern» because the number of Salvadorans who have come to renew the TPS this year is lower than expected.

«They are missing a golden opportunity,» she lamented, noting that misinformation could be the cause of the low participation.

Unlike previous occasions, this extension «is not automatic,» so beneficiaries must complete the renewal process.

José Palma, coordinator of the National TPS Alliance, emphasized that the extension of this benefit «has been hard work.»

In 2018, Trump’s administration tried to eliminate TPS for several countries, including El Salvador, which started a legal battle.

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The protection was defended by immigrants and U.S. citizens with relatives protected by TPS, arguing that its elimination was part of an «anti-immigrant and white supremacist agenda.»

Although the protection has remained in effect, Trump has continued his harsh stance against TPS during his second term.

Last month, he eliminated the benefit for about 350,000 Venezuelans and revoked the protection for more than half a million Haitians, who will soon be unprotected.

Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, justified the decision by stating that TPS has been «exploited and abused» for decades.

She claimed that Biden had granted the extensions to «tie the hands» of the Republican administration.

However, the TPS for Salvadorans, granted in 2001 after the earthquakes in that country, has remained intact under the Trump administration.

For Miguel Tinker Salas, political analyst and professor at Pomona University, this reflects «the interest» of the U.S. in making El Salvador receive deported immigrants with criminal records.

Last Saturday, Trump and Bukele publicized the deportation of more than 250 migrants to El Salvador, despite a judge’s order to stop these flights.

«Trump wants El Salvador to become the Guantanamo of Central America,» warned Tinker Salas.

The expert recalled that Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, met with Bukele in February.

«They want El Salvador to operate like GEO or Core Civic, which manage the multi-billion dollar business of immigration prisons in the U.S.,» he asserted.

Remittances sent by Salvadorans abroad are crucial for the country’s economy.

In 2024, these reached $8.5 billion, a 2.5% increase from 2023.

«Unfortunately, this good relationship that benefits some immigrants is harming others,» concluded Tinker Salas.

SOURCE: EFE / YAHOO

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