Since 2001, about 200,000 Salvadorans have been legally living in the United States; however, as of September 9, 2019 they will all have to be out of the United States or must obtain a green card.
The Salvadorans were here because of a massive earthquake that struck their homeland in January, 2001: the worst earthquake to strike the country in over a decade. After the earthquake, the US granted them what is known as the Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which has been renewed multiple times as 18 month extensions.
Since the Trump administration has been in office, immigration as a whole has changed greatly. Trump has had immigration arrests spiked by 40%, and the number of refugees allowed into the United States is at the lowest it’s been since 1980. As of last week, Trump sent lawmakers an $18 billion blueprint of the first phase of the Mexico border wall.
Ending TPS will leave a hard decision for many families, because families will have to decide whether to split up, or stay together and be here at risk of deportation. This is causing a lot of controversy because many of the people that came over because of TPS are now established and have families with children that are United States citizens.
Salvadorans are by far the most benefited by TPS because of how many Salvadorans are actually here in the United States. Many other foreigners were and are allowed here because of TPS and natural disasters in their countries. Weeks ago, 45,000 Haitians lost their protection from TPS due to the 2010 Haiti disaster. Along with TPS cuts, Trump has set 800,000 “Dreamers,” which are young undocumented immigrants to be deported unless otherwise stated by Congress which would give them legal status.
There has been an outburst of reactions from people all over the United States regarding the Salvadorans. Lawmakers from both parties are not happy with the decision, Rep. Jim McGovern, stated that this was a “cynical move,” while Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart wants Trump to reconsider his decision.
Mr. Jiron, a 41 year old who has been in the United States via TPS has said that “…we have a built life here,” so he and his family face an extremely hard decision on what to do. Jiron’s daughter of 14 stated that “…this is where i was born and supposed to be raised.”
Picture by NY times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/08/us/salvadorans-tps-end.html
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