DHS Decision for El Salvador Expected Monday
A recording of today’s call is available here.
Washington, D.C. — On a press call this afternoon, economic experts, faith leaders, and immigrant advocates demanded that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continue the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador.
Mark Drury, Vice President of Business Development, Shapiro & Duncan, Inc., said:
We are very busy and the biggest threat we face is not being able to achieve our strategic goals because of the lack of human capital in our industry. We are struggling to find enough qualified employees to tackle what we already have in the pipeline. We can’t begin to take on the workload that is currently on the market without adding additional capacity and by increasing the strength of our most important resource — human capital.
Dennis Stinchcomb, Assistant Director for Research, Center for Latin American & Latino Studies at American University, said:
El Salvador remains in a precarious position, with recurring climatic events, infrastructural challenges, limited employment opportunities, and a heavy dependence on remittances. Safety and security have emerged as monumental challenges for El Salvador, while corruption and impunity have stymied efforts at effective governance. These present-day factors compel the conclusion that El Salvador remains unable to adequately handle the return of TPS beneficiaries in the U.S.
Oscar Chacón, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Alianza Americas, said:
Up to this point, the Trump Administration has given us no reason to believe that anything other than xenophobia is driving its decisions on immigration policy. As Secretary Nielsen deliberates this important inaugural decision as the new head of Department of Homeland Security, it is important that she consider matters of fact—not fear-mongering—on behalf of the American people. The truth — vetted by economists, think tanks, experts on both sides of the political aisle — is that Temporary Protected Status is good for national security, regional stability, the US economy, and our families and communities. Ending this program puts lives in danger and runs against the very American values that the Trump administration purports to defend.
RESOURCES:
- Extending Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador: Country Conditions and U.S. Legal Requirements / American University (December)
- “Negative Consequences of Ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in El Salvador and Honduras for US Interests in Promoting Prosperity, Security and Governance in the Northern Triangle” / Alianza Americas, ECLA, KIND, and LAWG (August)
- Seeking Safety: Finding Violence, Detention, and Deportation Along the Mesoamerican Migration Corridor / Alianza Americas, 2016
- Temporary Protected Status in the United States: The Experiences of Honduran and Salvadoran Immigrants / Center for Migration Research, CARECEN-LA, and NDLON, Cecilia Menjívar (May). Presenting survey data from over 2,000 respondents, the report argues that TPS has contributed positively to the socioeconomic integration of Salvadoran and Honduran TPS holders and, in turn, has benefitted these immigrants, their families, and society in general.
- Economic Contributions by Salvadoran, Honduran, and Haitian TPS Holders / ILRC Amanda Baran and Jose Magaña-Salgado with Tom K. Wong (April 19). Report that calculates the economic losses of ending TPS for El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. Losses include cost to taxpayers, GDP reduction, decrease in Social Security and Medicare contributions, and turnover costs for businesses.
- A Statistical and Demographic Profile of the US Temporary Protected Status Populations from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti / Journal on Migration and Human Security. Robert Warren and Donald Kerwin, Center for Migration Studies
