El Salvador TPS: Why Two Federal Agencies Are Sending Salvadorans Mixed Signals Right Now

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: Supporters of the National TPS Alliance, a grassroots organization made up of immigrant rights groups, rally at the U.S. Capitol following a federal court ruling that threatens the legal standing of thousands of protected residents September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit lifted an injunction on the Trump Administration's ability to erase the temporary protected status of 400,000 people from six countries, including El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan. (Credit: Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Key Takeaways

• El Salvador's Temporary Protected Status technically expired Sept. 9, and four days later the Department of Homeland Security still hasn't said whether the 25-year-old designation will be extended or terminated.
• Status and work authorization have quietly split apart: DHS says legal protection continues, but immigration attorneys report that actual employment authorization cards already ran out for many beneficiaries on Sept. 9.
• El Salvador is now one of only four countries with any active TPS designation left, and the other three — Lebanon, Sudan and Ukraine — are all set to expire within the next two and a half months.