170,000 Salvadorans Face Losing TPS as Trump Pushes Deportation
GeopoliticsMacro
Around 170,000 Salvadorans who have lived and worked in the U.S. for over 25 years are about to lose their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) as President Donald Trump's administration advances its mass deportation policy. The status ends on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. These individuals have been legally allowed to live and work in the U.S. since March 2001 and are among the longest-tenured TPS holders in the country. The end of protection forces many to choose between returning to El Salvador, a country some barely know, or staying without legal status. One affected individual is Jose Urias, a real estate developer in Long Island who has built about 150 homes and apartments and employs dozens of workers. He said everything could be lost in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, Oscar Guevara, owner of construction firm Top Quality Custom Builders, revealed that his workforce has shrunk from 32 to just 5 after 7 workers were deported and others gradually left. The Trump administration maintains that TPS was designed as a temporary measure and that conditions in home countries have improved. Officials have arrested more than 50,000 immigrants in July and August. The policy also affects 350,000 Haitians, 55,000 Hondurans, 300,000 Venezuelans, and 8,000 Afghans, with an additional 300,000 Venezuelans at risk of losing status within the year. According to the National TPS Alliance, Salvadoran TPS holders in the workforce number about 152,000 and generate roughly $5.4 billion in economic value annually, while paying a total of $1.5 billion in taxes each year. El Salvador relies on remittances from the U.S., which in 2025 amounted to about $10 billion, accounting for 27.5% of GDP. Advocacy groups and Democratic members of Congress are urging the Trump administration to extend the protection, hoping that the relationship between Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele might help delay the measure.
