On October 28, 2019, the administration announced that as part of broader collaboration agreements between El Salvador and the United States, the U.S. has agreed to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Salvadorans until January 4, 2021. The timeframe for Salvadorans to apply to extend their TPS has not yet been announced.
Previously, the administration had terminated Salvadoran TPS, resulting in litigation and a federal court order maintaining Salvadoran TPS, which ended in September, through January 2, 2020 while the litigation is ongoing.
There are nearly 200,000 Salvadorans in the U.S. who have had TPS for more than 18 years, including many who live in Maine. They have built lives here, have U.S. citizen children who have grown up here. and they are part of our communities, our workforce, and our economy.
While having another full year of TPS status is a relief for them, it is time for Congress to pass legislation offering Salvadorans a path to permanent residency. The House has already done that, when it approved H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act. The ball is now in the Senate’s court. It is past time for the Senate to act.