Latino Leaders Denounce Trump Administration Decision To End TPS For Salvadorans
(Press Release) The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 45 of the nation’s preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, denounces the Trump administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 250,000 Salvadorans granted TPS following devastating earthquakes that hit El Salvador in 2001.
El Salvador represents the largest group of TPS holders in the U.S. These individuals now have a limited amount of time to determine whether they will remain in the United States without official documentation or leave the country they have called home for almost two decades. Trump’s agenda to reduce lawful immigration runs contrary to our American values by tearing families apart and will hurt the national economy. NHLA calls upon Congress to urgently take up legislation to provide permanent protection for TPS holders.
“By canceling TPS for Salvadorans, the Trump administration is actually creating new groups of immigrants it can deport in order to pander to its base, while shamelessly tearing apart families. Nearly 190,000 U.S.-born children are at risk of losing their parents and loved ones,” said Hector Sanchez Barba, Chair of NHLA and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. “This is inhumane. NHLA calls on Congress to act and help save these people from an uncertain fate.”
“Demonstrating the decided lack of leadership that characterizes this administration, the Secretary of Homeland Security has opted to trigger tremendous disruption of our economy and of our communities by stripping legal status from over a quarter of a million Salvadoran immigrants,” said Thomas A. Saenz, Vice Chair of NHLA and President and General Counsel of MALDEF. “It makes no sense to uproot families present in the United States for decades; Congress must act to preserve our national values in support of family and community.”
“The United States has yet again turned its back on its promise to provide refuge for those who face violence and persecution in their home countries,” said Oscar Chacón, NHLA Board Member and Executive Director of Alianza Americas. “We double-down on our calls to Congress to act on the legislative proposals that have been introduced in recent months, bills that would create a pathway to permanent residency for long-time TPS holders who have invested decades of their lives in contribution to communities across the United States.”
