Suozzi Seeks Extension on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Suozzi (NY-03) sent two letters to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, urging the administration to extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador and underscoring the stakes for TPS holders if the agency allows the program to expire. TPS for El Salvador, which has been in place for over 25 years, will expire on September 9, 2026. The Secretary must announce his decision whether to terminate or extend the designation by July 11, 2026. 

“For almost three decades, TPS holders from El Salvador have built lives, families, and communities in the United States. Salvadoran TPS holders contribute over five billion dollars to the economy each year and nearly 90 percent of Salvadoran TPS holders participate in the labor force. They also support hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizen children. Expiration of TPS would throw families into chaos, jeopardize American children’s futures, rip apart communities, and damage the economy. It would be unjust and inhumane,” said Rep Suozzi.

“This is a particularly personal issue for me as I know many Salvadoran TPS families going back to the days when I was Mayor of Glen Cove from 1994-2001,” Rep. Suozzi continued. “I have seen people who were new immigrants back in the 1990s become homeowners, business owners, and raise children who went to school with my children. This would be a devastating blow to many that I represent.” 

Secretary Mullin responded on July 2, 2026, to Rep. Suozzi’s initial letter from June 22, 2026, with an explanation of alternative pathways TPS beneficiaries can pursue to stay in the United States. In a follow up letter on July 3, 2026, Congressman Suozzi reiterated why those pathways the Secretary suggested are not viable for most Salvadoran TPS holders and warned that terminating the designation could tear apart families and deport people who have been in this country legally for a generation. With no path to permanent legal status for most of them, termination would be catastrophic. 

Rep. Suozzi, in his July 3rd letter, proposed a “parole in place” policy and an extended two-year transition period to mitigate the harm to Salvadoran TPS holders and their families in the event that the administration does not extend El Salvador’s TPS designation. As he emphasized in his letter, it is critically important that the administration extends the TPS designation for El Salvador and works with Congress to establish a more permanent, humane solution.

“The bottom line is if there was a route to legal status for most Salvadoran TPS holders, they would have taken it already, said Rep. Suozzi. “TPS holders are embedded in the fabric of our communities on Long Island, in Queens, and across the country. Letting the TPS designation run out and risking ripping them away from their families is inhumane and un-American. We need a just and comprehensive solution to this deeply personal issue that is based on common sense and basic humanity, and that solution cannot involve removing TPS holders, who have been essential to our communities for nearly three decades, from the country with only 60 days’ notice.”

Read Congressman Suozzi’s initial letter here. 

Read Secretary Mullin’s response here. 

Read Congressman Suozzi’s follow up letter here and below. 

Dear Secretary Mullin: 

Thank you for your timely response to my letter urging you to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador. Unfortunately, we will need an additional solution if we are to treat families and individuals who have been here decades in a humane and just manner consistent with our American values. 

You identify a number of potential pathways for TPS holders to remain lawfully in the U.S. in the event TPS for El Salvador were terminated. However, the vast majority of Salvadoran TPS holders will be unable to qualify for those protections because: 

1. If TPS expires and TPS holders are forced to leave the country, those who initially entered the U.S. without documentation prior to 2001 (most TPS holders) will be barred from returning or seeking permanent status for 10 years. Therefore, the pathways you describe will not be available to most TPS holders even if they are otherwise eligible. 

2. The pathways you describe are limited and most TPS holders are not eligible.  

Salvadoran TPS holders are well aware that their legal status in the United States is tenuous. For the past 25 years, they have faced the threat of losing their status every 18 months. If there were an available path to permanent residence – or even another non-immigrant status – TPS holders would take it. But there is not. That is why 70% of TPS holders from Honduras, who lived in the United States lawfully for just as long as Salvadoran TPS holders, were unable to become lawful permanent residents before their TPS was terminated last year.  

For most Salvadoran TPS holders, termination of TPS will result in the immediate loss of lawful status and separation from their U.S. citizen children and other family members, as well as detention and deportation. Therefore, if you choose to terminate TPS for El Salvador, I urge you to provide a smooth transition for TPS holders by adopting a “parole in place” policy and an orderly transition period of two years. 

1. If TPS expires and TPS holders are forced to leave the country, those who entered the U.S. without inspection or documentation will be barred from returning to the U.S. for up  to 10 years. Therefore, none of the pathways you describe will be available. 

Any non-citizen who leaves the United States after living here without documentation for more than 180 days – no matter how long ago – triggers either a three-year or ten-year bar. Many TPS holders initially entered the U.S. without inspection or documentation prior to the establishment of TPS status in 2001. Therefore, if TPS expires, TPS holders will be forced to leave the country immediately, triggering a 10-year ban on re-entering the country or applying for permanent status. As a result, the options you describe will be out of reach for the majority of TPS holders 

Additionally, the few who may be eligible for pathways to lawful status, including those who have already applied, would have to successfully secure their new status prior to the expiration of TPS in almost two months. Given typical processing times, this is highly improbable. 

2. The pathways you describe are limited and most TPS holders are not eligible. 

A. Family-based visas 

In order to qualify for a family-based immigrant visa, a TPS holder must 1) have been lawfully admitted to the U.S. and 2) have a qualifying relative. A family-based visa is not a viable path for many Salvadoran TPS holders because: 

i) many entered the U.S. without inspection or documentation prior to the establishment of TPS status in 2001. Therefore, they were not lawfully admitted when they arrived. As you know, non-citizens who have not been admitted or paroled are not eligible to secure permanent status in the United States, even if a family-based or employment-based immigrant visa is available. Furthermore, even if a TPS holder is eligible for an immigrant visa but for their lack of lawful admission, leaving the U.S. to then return via lawful admission is not an option given the bans on returning described above. 

ii) many do not have a relative eligible to sponsor them. Immigrant visas may be available through immediate U.S. citizen relatives, including a spouse, a U.S. citizen parent if the TPS holder is under the age of 21, or a U.S. citizen child over the age of 21. Because minor U.S. citizens may not sponsor their parents, TPS holders whose only U.S. citizen or lawful permanent relative is their minor U.S. citizen child have no immigrant visa available. Many of those who have held TPS since childhood find themselves in this situation. 

iii) recent changes to DHS policy have created new barriers to adjustment even for those who have been admitted and have an immigrant visa available. TPS holders who have diligently followed the law for decades face considerable uncertainty and fear regarding how DHS may decide their applications. 

B. Employment-based visas 

Many Salvadoran TPS holders perform work that – while essential to the economy – is classified as “unskilled.” There is a very limited number of employment-based immigrant visas available for unskilled workers, and a years-long wait time even where visas are available. Therefore, this is not a viable option for many Salvadoran TPS holders. Further, a TPS holder who loses their TPS status – for example, due to the expiration of their TPS – is not eligible to adjust their status to obtain an employment-based immigrant visa. 

C. Asylum 

Salvadorans are unlikely to qualify for asylum. A successful asylum application requires the applicant to show a well-founded fear of persecution on account of one of five distinct grounds: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Salvadoran TPS holders who left El Salvador because, for example, their children had become malnourished because grocery stores in their area no longer sold basic goods likely cannot establish persecution on a protected ground. Even those who fled extortion and violence by criminal entities typically cannot establish eligibility for asylum because they cannot show that the harm is on account of a protected ground. 

D. Other non-immigrant statuses 

While some TPS holders who meet the specific eligibility requirements may qualify for the non-immigrant statuses you identify, it is not possible for a non-citizen without immigration status to adjust to a non-immigrant status. Therefore, if TPS holders lose their TPS, they will not be able to adjust to a different non-immigrant status. 

E. Deferred action 

You identify deferred action as an option, but state that it is available only in “extraordinary circumstances.” Examples of extraordinary circumstances include medical emergencies or human trafficking victims. This form of relief, by definition, will not be available to the vast majority of Salvadoran TPS holders. 

3. If TPS is terminated, the administration should take steps to ensure a smooth transition and mitigate the resulting harm to TPS holders and their families. 

Even for the minority of Salvadoran TPS holders who qualify for a pathway to another immigrant or non-immigrant status, processing delays at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) mean that adjustment would take a significant amount of time—often years or more. But, over the past year and a half, DHS has provided TPS holders with only 60 days’ notice of the loss of TPS—far too little time to pursue even a viable path to alternative status. 

If TPS for El Salvador is terminated, the administration could ensure TPS holders who do have another pathway available have sufficient time to adjust and mitigate the resulting impacts to TPS holders’ families by: 

1. Adopting a “parole in place” policy for TPS holders akin to its military parole in place policy. This would ensure that TPS holders who have immigrant visas available to them are able to adjust their status without requiring them to leave the U.S., which, in many cases, would trigger new, additional barriers to adjustment. Specifically, TPS holders who were undocumented prior to receiving status would be barred from securing a visa and returning to the U.S. for up to 10 years after leaving the country. 

   1. Adopting an orderly transition period of two years to provide TPS holders with sufficient time to prepare for the loss of protections they have built their lives around for nearly three decades. The TPS statute gives DHS discretion to create an orderly transition period. There is no limit on the period pursuant to statute. In 2019, the Trump administration granted an extended 18-month period for the termination of TPS for El Salvador. Given Salvadoran TPS holders’ decades-long tenure in the U.S., a longer transition period of two years would give them necessary time to find new medical care, employment, and housing outside the country; ensure U.S. citizen children or other dependent family members can safely and seamlessly transition to alternate accommodations, schools, and communities; and more. 

4. Conclusion 

The Department of Homeland Security can and should extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvadorans who have lived continuously in the United States for almost three decades, all the while contributing to the economy, bolstering the labor force in key industries, and supporting U.S.-based families that often include U.S. citizen children or other relatives. Despite this, the majority of Salvadoran TPS holders have no clear path to permanent status, and the termination of TPS for El Salvador would be immediately devastating to hundreds of thousands of people. However, if the administration does decide to terminate TPS for El Salvador, the right, just, and humane thing to do would be to ensure a smooth transition for TPS holders by offering both a “parole in place” policy and an extended two-year transition period. 

As you know, I am committed to finding a bipartisan path forward that permanently secures the border consistent with the President’s Executive Orders, while also reforming the asylum system which has been abused. Most important, I am prepared to work with you and the administration to provide legal status for those millions of immigrants who have been present here in the United States prior to January 20th of 2017 and, other than not having proper documentation, have committed no violations of U.S. law. Such a bipartisan solution would address the situation of Salvadoran TPS holders and millions of other immigrants who have been contributing to the United States’ economy and culture for more than 10 years (often much longer). Let’s work together to find a just, humane and practical solution to both the immediate situation of Salvadoran TPS holders and the painful issue of our immigration system at large. 

Please reach out to me or my staff with any questions. I look forward to your response. 

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