CLINIC, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (Washington, D.C. metropolitan area), according to its website, embraces the Gospel value of welcoming the stranger, promotes the dignity and protects the rights of immigrants in partnership with a dedicated network of Catholic and community legal immigration programs. The organization joined, Alianza Americas, and 270 faith-based organizations urge the DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to strongly consider our request to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, as the country remains in an unstable condition for the safe return of Salvadoran TPS nationals residing in the United States.
August 21, 2026
President Donald J. Trump
Image - SEAPC
RE: Request to Extend Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador
Dear President Trump, Secretary Mullin, and Secretary Rubio:
The undersigned 270 (updated) faith-based organizations and 174 faith leaders write to urge you in your capacity as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador before its expiration. The current designation is scheduled to expire on September 9, 2026.1 Although the signatories all come from various faith backgrounds, we have a shared purpose in respecting human life, upholding the inherent dignity of every individual person, maintaining the family unit, and protecting those who are unable to safely return to their home country due to conflict, natural disasters, or some other extraordinary condition. These same principles exist today in our TPS statutes to ensure that regardless of which administration is leading this nation, TPS foreign nationals currently residing in the United States are not sent back to unsafe conditions. Approximately 20% of TPS holders from El Salvador entered the United States at the age of sixteen,2 some even younger. They later became adults; some married and had children who were born in the United States. They obtained work authorization and contributed to their communities. Establishing their lives in the United States is all some Salvadoran TPS holders have ever known. They are our neighbors, our friends, and loved ones, and this administration should view them as such and value their contribution to this nation.
Terminating the TPS protection and forcing these individuals to be separated from their families will cause additional trauma and hardship. Maintaining the family unit is a bedrock principle for our various faith traditions, and it is a value that this nation also upholds. Immigration policies should reflect that same principle whenever the law permits, and extending the designation for Salvadorans is an opportunity to do just that.
TPS was established by our U.S. Congress as a humanitarian and protective measure for individuals who meet the statutory requirements. More specifically, the DHS Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of State and others, may designate a country for TPS if conditions in a country (as a whole or in part) meet statutory requirements for such designation,3 including ongoing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions that temporarily prevent safe return.
Throughout the years, El Salvadoran TPS holders have developed significant ties in various communities across the United States. They make up one of the largest populations of TPS holders in the United States, with long-standing histories, deep roots, and ties to their communities. Currently, approximately 170,000 El Salvadorans are TPS holders in the United States, 4 where they also work and contribute to the United States economy. Although Salvadoran TPS holders have settled and contributed to the United States for decades, there is no lawful pathway for them to adjust their status to permanent resident, as TPS holders are not considered “admitted” for purposes of adjustment of status.5 Terminating their status will cause irreparable harm to their families, the roots they have established in their homes and communities, and to the U.S. economy at large.
We believe that sending hundreds of thousands of Salvadoran TPS holders back into an unstable and unfamiliar country that does not have the capability to support its own nationals is a danger to those individuals and a decision that would have severe negative consequences for years to come. A thoughtful review of the current conditions in El Salvador, consideration of their contributions as TPS holders to the United States and the administration’s obligation to respect the statutory framework which governs TPS, supports an extension of El Salvador’s TPS designation.
I. The current conditions in El Salvador do not allow for safe returns of TPS holders in the United States.
The current conditions in El Salvador remain harmful for TPS holders who face a possible return to their country. The country has remained in a state of emergency for over four years in response to its efforts to tame organized crime, suspending basic human rights protections.6 The state of emergency called for well over 125,000 people to be incarcerated.7 Some of those detained are innocent and in addition, some are not afforded access to legal representation, and at least 500 have died in detention between the start of the state of emergency and March 10, 2026. The repeated occurrences of human rights violations, including reports of torture, inhumane conditions, and due process violations make the safe return of Salvadoran TPS holders risky. In a report by the International Group of Experts for the Investigation of Human Rights Violations in the Framework of the State of Emergency in El Salvador (GIPES), they share that imprisonment was not limited to adults but also included children and adolescents8. Children and young teenagers should not be subjected to lack of access to food, torture, murder, kidnapping, sexual crimes, and other horrific criminal acts in the name of public security; yet, this is potentially what TPS holders and their children face if deported back to El Salvador. GIPES reported that by August 2025, 403 documented deaths resulted from inhumane prison conditions, neglect of medical care, and violence from security agents.9 Four of those deaths included children.
Another serious concern involves the forcible disappearances and detention of several Salvadoran deportees sent back to El Salvador from the United States. Over 9,000 Salvadoran men have been deported back to El Salvador, some alleged to be gang members of MS-13, an allegation that “neither [the] [U.S.] nor Salvadoran authorities have provided evidence or information to substantiate the claim that any of the others are gang members.”10 According to family members, some of the deportees fled domestic or criminal violence and what is most concerning is that some of the family members of these deportees have been unable to locate their loved ones. When asked, Salvadoran “authorities refused to provide information, claiming they ‘lacked a legal mandate’ or that they had no record of them.”11 With no access to legal counsel to represent them in El Salvador and no ability to contact or be reached by their family, some of these deportees have been subjected to enforced disappearance. 12 Salvadoran TPS holders deported from the United States, who have not been known to commit any crime, are not being protected from unjust detention at the direction of the Salvadoran government. It is simply not safe to send back Salvadoran TPS holders if there is evidence that they will be detained without any justification.
El Salvador still meets statutory conditions for TPS based on environmental considerations as well. As noted in the January 17, 2025, Federal Register Notice, “El Salvador continues to experience significant climate and geological events.... Parts of El Salvador are located in Central America's ‘Dry Corridor,’ an area that experiences dangerously long periods of drought alternating with periods of significant rainfall that negatively impact the livelihoods and food security of its inhabitants.”13
We, as faith leaders and faith organizations, are particularly concerned by the situation in El Salvador and the conditions that TPS holders and their American families would face if forced to return. Reports describing the eradication of fundamental human rights protections, due process rights, and freedom of expression. While governments have a legitimate responsibility to address public safety, efforts to combat crime must also respect the rule of law and the dignity of every human person.
What is happening today in El Salvador did not just begin a few weeks or months ago. It stems back to the 1990s when TPS was first granted for Salvadorans. Returning approximately 170,000 Salvadoran TPS holders to these conditions would place families at significant risk and undermine the humanitarian purpose that Congress intended TPS to serve. The El Salvadoran government acknowledges that reintegration will be a challenge for returnees, as they face multiple hurdles and will require coordinated assistance to reintegrate socially and economically.14 The coordinated team efforts to establish and promote a comprehensive reintegration plan also emphasizes that successful return cannot be assumed and will require substantial institutional support. Sending TPS holders back before the country is ready to receive and manage the weight of the returnees will cause instability to El Salvador’s economy and will affect the lives of those who must return. II. Salvadoran TPS holders make significant contributions to the U.S. economy, and their removal would be detrimental to U.S. communities.
Salvadoran TPS holders have made extraordinary contributions to the United States for decades. They have invested in this country in many of the ways U.S. citizens have. Their annual economic contribution has surpassed $5 billion.15 They participate in the labor force at exceptionally high rates, filling critical positions in industries essential to our nation's economy, including construction, health care, hospitality, food production, transportation, manufacturing, childcare, and elder care. They pay federal, state, and local taxes amounting to $1.5 billion annually,16 contribute to Social Security and Medicare, support local businesses through consumer spending, and create jobs through entrepreneurship.
TPS holders have some of the highest labor force participation rates in the United States. They collectively contribute billions of dollars annually in economic activity and tax revenue while helping address workforce shortages in sectors already experiencing significant labor challenges. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens, including spouses and children living in mixed-status households, would face severe hardship if TPS protections are terminated. El Salvador’s economy heavily relies on remittances, including money from Salvadoran TPS holders. “Economic activity has largely depended on consumption financed by remittances, while investment, exports, and productivity have lagged.”17 These remittances help support the economy in areas including, health care, housing, and small business. Despite the substantial flow of remittances into El Salvador, the country continues to struggle with “limitations in human capital, low job quality and weakness in the efficiency of public investment.”18
These contributions are not economic statistics for display. Instead, they are a reflection of the lives established through years of lawful employment, contributions to the local communities, and faithful participation in American communities.
III. Conclusion
For the many thousands of Salvadoran families who worship in our congregations, contribute to our communities, and call the United States home, this decision is not an 15 Fwd.us, TPS Holders from El Salvador Make the U.S. Stronger, (Available at https://www.fwd.us/wpcontent/uploads/2026/04/260408_FWD_TPSforElSalvador-1.pdf.) (last visited July 13, 2026).
16 Id. 17 World Bank Group. El Salvador. Overview: El Salvador. Economy. (Available at https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/elsalvador?). (Last updated April 8, 2026). 18 Id. abstract policy question. It is a matter of family unity, human dignity, community stability, and faithful adherence to the humanitarian commitments embodied in our laws. The evidence demonstrates that El Salvador continues to face extraordinary conditions that would make the large-scale return of long-term TPS holders, both harmful and unsustainable. The limited access to quality employment, ongoing reintegration challenges acknowledged by the Salvadoran government itself, persistent human rights concerns documented by international observers, and the forced disappearances and unjustified detention, all weigh strongly in favor of extending TPS. Developments in one aspect of country conditions do not put an end to the review required under the TPS statute. We look forward to your prompt action and appreciate your attention to this important matter. Please do not hesitate to contact Elnora Bassey, Policy Attorney at ebassey@cliniclegal.org, Pedro Alemán-Perfecto, Policy Advocate, from Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) at paleman@cliniclegal.org or Yanira Arias, from Alianza Americas at yarias@alianzaamericas.org with any questions or concerns, or to discuss the matter further. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Faith Leaders
1 90 Fed. Reg. 5953
2 See Warren, Robert, et. al., A Statistical and Demographic Profile of the US Temporary Protected Status Populations from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti, Journal on Migration and Human Security (2017), (Available at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/233150241700500302).
3 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(1); see also Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135 (Congress delegating authority for TPS designation from U.S. Attorney General to DHS Secretary).
4 See Congressional Research Service, “Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure,” updated Aug. 28, 2025 (available at https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/RS/PDF/RS20844/RS20844.83.pdf).
5 Congress.gov. Are Temporary Protected Status Recipients Eligible to Adjust Status? (Available at https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10554) (last visited on July 8, 2026).
6 See Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. IACHR continues to monitor the effects of the state of emergency on human rights in El Salvador), (Available at https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2026/066.asp) (April 21, 2026).
7 Id.
8 See GIPES, El Salvador at the crossroads: Crimes against humanity in the framework of public security policy (March 2026), (Available at https://dplf.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/El-Salvador-at-theCrossroads-Crimes-against-Humanity-under-the-Public-Security-Policy-Excutive-Summary-GIPES-1.pdf.) (March 2026).
9 Id.
10 Human Rights Watch. US/El Salvador: Deportees Forcibly Disappeared, Disclose Their Whereabouts; Take Them Before a Judge. (Available at https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/16/us/el-salvador-deporteesforcibly-disappeared). (March 16, 2026).
11 Id. 12 Id. An enforced disappearance occurs when authorities deprive a person of their liberty and then refuse to disclose that person’s fate or whereabouts, placing them outside the protection of the law.
13 90 FR 5953 Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status, (Available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/17/2025-00626/extension-of-the-designation-of-elsalvador-for-temporary-protected-status#footnote-20-p5956). (January 17, 2025). 14 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador. El Salvador promotes the reintegration of returned persons with an instrument under a human development approach. (Available at https://rree.gob.sv/el-salvador-impulsa-lareintegracion-de-personas-retornadas-con-un-instrumento-bajo-un-enfoque-de-desarrollo-humano/?).
(September 5, 2025).
The undersigned 270 (updated) faith-based organizations and 174 faith leaders write to urge you in your capacity as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador before its expiration. The current designation is scheduled to expire on September 9, 2026.1 Although the signatories all come from various faith backgrounds, we have a shared purpose in respecting human life, upholding the inherent dignity of every individual person, maintaining the family unit, and protecting those who are unable to safely return to their home country due to conflict, natural disasters, or some other extraordinary condition. These same principles exist today in our TPS statutes to ensure that regardless of which administration is leading this nation, TPS foreign nationals currently residing in the United States are not sent back to unsafe conditions. Approximately 20% of TPS holders from El Salvador entered the United States at the age of sixteen,2 some even younger. They later became adults; some married and had children who were born in the United States. They obtained work authorization and contributed to their communities. Establishing their lives in the United States is all some Salvadoran TPS holders have ever known. They are our neighbors, our friends, and loved ones, and this administration should view them as such and value their contribution to this nation.
Terminating the TPS protection and forcing these individuals to be separated from their families will cause additional trauma and hardship. Maintaining the family unit is a bedrock principle for our various faith traditions, and it is a value that this nation also upholds. Immigration policies should reflect that same principle whenever the law permits, and extending the designation for Salvadorans is an opportunity to do just that.
TPS was established by our U.S. Congress as a humanitarian and protective measure for individuals who meet the statutory requirements. More specifically, the DHS Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of State and others, may designate a country for TPS if conditions in a country (as a whole or in part) meet statutory requirements for such designation,3 including ongoing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions that temporarily prevent safe return.
Throughout the years, El Salvadoran TPS holders have developed significant ties in various communities across the United States. They make up one of the largest populations of TPS holders in the United States, with long-standing histories, deep roots, and ties to their communities. Currently, approximately 170,000 El Salvadorans are TPS holders in the United States, 4 where they also work and contribute to the United States economy. Although Salvadoran TPS holders have settled and contributed to the United States for decades, there is no lawful pathway for them to adjust their status to permanent resident, as TPS holders are not considered “admitted” for purposes of adjustment of status.5 Terminating their status will cause irreparable harm to their families, the roots they have established in their homes and communities, and to the U.S. economy at large.
We believe that sending hundreds of thousands of Salvadoran TPS holders back into an unstable and unfamiliar country that does not have the capability to support its own nationals is a danger to those individuals and a decision that would have severe negative consequences for years to come. A thoughtful review of the current conditions in El Salvador, consideration of their contributions as TPS holders to the United States and the administration’s obligation to respect the statutory framework which governs TPS, supports an extension of El Salvador’s TPS designation.
I. The current conditions in El Salvador do not allow for safe returns of TPS holders in the United States.
The current conditions in El Salvador remain harmful for TPS holders who face a possible return to their country. The country has remained in a state of emergency for over four years in response to its efforts to tame organized crime, suspending basic human rights protections.6 The state of emergency called for well over 125,000 people to be incarcerated.7 Some of those detained are innocent and in addition, some are not afforded access to legal representation, and at least 500 have died in detention between the start of the state of emergency and March 10, 2026. The repeated occurrences of human rights violations, including reports of torture, inhumane conditions, and due process violations make the safe return of Salvadoran TPS holders risky. In a report by the International Group of Experts for the Investigation of Human Rights Violations in the Framework of the State of Emergency in El Salvador (GIPES), they share that imprisonment was not limited to adults but also included children and adolescents8. Children and young teenagers should not be subjected to lack of access to food, torture, murder, kidnapping, sexual crimes, and other horrific criminal acts in the name of public security; yet, this is potentially what TPS holders and their children face if deported back to El Salvador. GIPES reported that by August 2025, 403 documented deaths resulted from inhumane prison conditions, neglect of medical care, and violence from security agents.9 Four of those deaths included children.
Another serious concern involves the forcible disappearances and detention of several Salvadoran deportees sent back to El Salvador from the United States. Over 9,000 Salvadoran men have been deported back to El Salvador, some alleged to be gang members of MS-13, an allegation that “neither [the] [U.S.] nor Salvadoran authorities have provided evidence or information to substantiate the claim that any of the others are gang members.”10 According to family members, some of the deportees fled domestic or criminal violence and what is most concerning is that some of the family members of these deportees have been unable to locate their loved ones. When asked, Salvadoran “authorities refused to provide information, claiming they ‘lacked a legal mandate’ or that they had no record of them.”11 With no access to legal counsel to represent them in El Salvador and no ability to contact or be reached by their family, some of these deportees have been subjected to enforced disappearance. 12 Salvadoran TPS holders deported from the United States, who have not been known to commit any crime, are not being protected from unjust detention at the direction of the Salvadoran government. It is simply not safe to send back Salvadoran TPS holders if there is evidence that they will be detained without any justification.
El Salvador still meets statutory conditions for TPS based on environmental considerations as well. As noted in the January 17, 2025, Federal Register Notice, “El Salvador continues to experience significant climate and geological events.... Parts of El Salvador are located in Central America's ‘Dry Corridor,’ an area that experiences dangerously long periods of drought alternating with periods of significant rainfall that negatively impact the livelihoods and food security of its inhabitants.”13
We, as faith leaders and faith organizations, are particularly concerned by the situation in El Salvador and the conditions that TPS holders and their American families would face if forced to return. Reports describing the eradication of fundamental human rights protections, due process rights, and freedom of expression. While governments have a legitimate responsibility to address public safety, efforts to combat crime must also respect the rule of law and the dignity of every human person.
What is happening today in El Salvador did not just begin a few weeks or months ago. It stems back to the 1990s when TPS was first granted for Salvadorans. Returning approximately 170,000 Salvadoran TPS holders to these conditions would place families at significant risk and undermine the humanitarian purpose that Congress intended TPS to serve. The El Salvadoran government acknowledges that reintegration will be a challenge for returnees, as they face multiple hurdles and will require coordinated assistance to reintegrate socially and economically.14 The coordinated team efforts to establish and promote a comprehensive reintegration plan also emphasizes that successful return cannot be assumed and will require substantial institutional support. Sending TPS holders back before the country is ready to receive and manage the weight of the returnees will cause instability to El Salvador’s economy and will affect the lives of those who must return. II. Salvadoran TPS holders make significant contributions to the U.S. economy, and their removal would be detrimental to U.S. communities.
Salvadoran TPS holders have made extraordinary contributions to the United States for decades. They have invested in this country in many of the ways U.S. citizens have. Their annual economic contribution has surpassed $5 billion.15 They participate in the labor force at exceptionally high rates, filling critical positions in industries essential to our nation's economy, including construction, health care, hospitality, food production, transportation, manufacturing, childcare, and elder care. They pay federal, state, and local taxes amounting to $1.5 billion annually,16 contribute to Social Security and Medicare, support local businesses through consumer spending, and create jobs through entrepreneurship.
TPS holders have some of the highest labor force participation rates in the United States. They collectively contribute billions of dollars annually in economic activity and tax revenue while helping address workforce shortages in sectors already experiencing significant labor challenges. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens, including spouses and children living in mixed-status households, would face severe hardship if TPS protections are terminated. El Salvador’s economy heavily relies on remittances, including money from Salvadoran TPS holders. “Economic activity has largely depended on consumption financed by remittances, while investment, exports, and productivity have lagged.”17 These remittances help support the economy in areas including, health care, housing, and small business. Despite the substantial flow of remittances into El Salvador, the country continues to struggle with “limitations in human capital, low job quality and weakness in the efficiency of public investment.”18
These contributions are not economic statistics for display. Instead, they are a reflection of the lives established through years of lawful employment, contributions to the local communities, and faithful participation in American communities.
III. Conclusion
For the many thousands of Salvadoran families who worship in our congregations, contribute to our communities, and call the United States home, this decision is not an 15 Fwd.us, TPS Holders from El Salvador Make the U.S. Stronger, (Available at https://www.fwd.us/wpcontent/uploads/2026/04/260408_FWD_TPSforElSalvador-1.pdf.) (last visited July 13, 2026).
16 Id. 17 World Bank Group. El Salvador. Overview: El Salvador. Economy. (Available at https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/elsalvador?). (Last updated April 8, 2026). 18 Id. abstract policy question. It is a matter of family unity, human dignity, community stability, and faithful adherence to the humanitarian commitments embodied in our laws. The evidence demonstrates that El Salvador continues to face extraordinary conditions that would make the large-scale return of long-term TPS holders, both harmful and unsustainable. The limited access to quality employment, ongoing reintegration challenges acknowledged by the Salvadoran government itself, persistent human rights concerns documented by international observers, and the forced disappearances and unjustified detention, all weigh strongly in favor of extending TPS. Developments in one aspect of country conditions do not put an end to the review required under the TPS statute. We look forward to your prompt action and appreciate your attention to this important matter. Please do not hesitate to contact Elnora Bassey, Policy Attorney at ebassey@cliniclegal.org, Pedro Alemán-Perfecto, Policy Advocate, from Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) at paleman@cliniclegal.org or Yanira Arias, from Alianza Americas at yarias@alianzaamericas.org with any questions or concerns, or to discuss the matter further. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Faith Leaders
1 90 Fed. Reg. 5953
2 See Warren, Robert, et. al., A Statistical and Demographic Profile of the US Temporary Protected Status Populations from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti, Journal on Migration and Human Security (2017), (Available at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/233150241700500302).
3 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(1); see also Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135 (Congress delegating authority for TPS designation from U.S. Attorney General to DHS Secretary).
4 See Congressional Research Service, “Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure,” updated Aug. 28, 2025 (available at https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/RS/PDF/RS20844/RS20844.83.pdf).
5 Congress.gov. Are Temporary Protected Status Recipients Eligible to Adjust Status? (Available at https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10554) (last visited on July 8, 2026).
6 See Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. IACHR continues to monitor the effects of the state of emergency on human rights in El Salvador), (Available at https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2026/066.asp) (April 21, 2026).
7 Id.
8 See GIPES, El Salvador at the crossroads: Crimes against humanity in the framework of public security policy (March 2026), (Available at https://dplf.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/El-Salvador-at-theCrossroads-Crimes-against-Humanity-under-the-Public-Security-Policy-Excutive-Summary-GIPES-1.pdf.) (March 2026).
9 Id.
10 Human Rights Watch. US/El Salvador: Deportees Forcibly Disappeared, Disclose Their Whereabouts; Take Them Before a Judge. (Available at https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/16/us/el-salvador-deporteesforcibly-disappeared). (March 16, 2026).
11 Id. 12 Id. An enforced disappearance occurs when authorities deprive a person of their liberty and then refuse to disclose that person’s fate or whereabouts, placing them outside the protection of the law.
13 90 FR 5953 Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status, (Available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/17/2025-00626/extension-of-the-designation-of-elsalvador-for-temporary-protected-status#footnote-20-p5956). (January 17, 2025). 14 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador. El Salvador promotes the reintegration of returned persons with an instrument under a human development approach. (Available at https://rree.gob.sv/el-salvador-impulsa-lareintegracion-de-personas-retornadas-con-un-instrumento-bajo-un-enfoque-de-desarrollo-humano/?).
(September 5, 2025).
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