Congressman Steven Horsford Applauds Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans

Washington, D.C. — On Monday, October 28, 2019, the Trump Administration and the government of El Salvador announced that they had reached an agreement to extend Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans living in the United States. Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) released the following statement in response:

"I'm glad that the Trump Administration finally agreed to extend protection to families with Temporary Protected Status. This long-overdue decision will give family comfort and assurance that they can remain in the U.S. where they work, have started families, purchased homes and contribute to the wellbeing of our communities and economy," Congressman Horsford said.

"Salvadoran TPS-holders are hard-working and patriotic individuals who contribute to our nation in every way and, over the past nearly-20 years, have called our country home. Salvadorans living in the United States have crafted beautiful and vibrant lives here and deserve to know that those lives will not be unceremoniously uprooted. The forced return to El Salvador of roughly 200,000 Salvadorans from the United States would cause chaos and turmoil, not only for these families but for the country of El Salvador itself. I will continue to make sure we have a clear, constituent immigration policy that is rooted in the ideals of our nation, that keeps our families together and protects our national security and interests."

The Temporary Protected Status program allows immigrants within the United States who cannot return to their country of origin due to conflict, natural disasters or other circumstances the opportunity to stay in the U.S. legally. In 2018, the Trump Administration announced it would end TPS for Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, and Sudan.

Currently, 5,700 Salvadorans in Nevada are TPS holders and 3,800 U.S.-born children in Nevada have Salvadoran parents who are TPS holders. On average, TPS holders from El Salvador in Nevada have been in the United States for 24 years. Nationwide, an estimated 320,000 people hold TPS in the United States from 10 designated countries; more than 90 percent of these individuals are from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. Ending the TPS status would uproot these families and return them to their countries of origin — countries where some TPS holders have not lived for decades.