Immigration policy has shifted rapidly in 2026 as the Trump administration has moved to end Temporary Protected Status for multiple national groups after court victories. This week, that broad crackdown narrowed sharply to El Salvador, where federal officials did not terminate TPS before the program’s September 9 deadline and said Salvadoran beneficiaries could remain protected until a formal announcement is made. The result is a split outcome: Salvadorans can still live and work legally in the United States for now, while Haitians already lost the same protection earlier this summer.
DHS left Salvadoran TPS in place without a formal extension
The Department of Homeland Security said on September 9 that an announcement on El Salvador’s TPS designation would be made “at the appropriate time,” according to reporting by the Associated Press and NPR Illinois. Because no formal termination was issued before the expiration date, about 200,000 Salvadorans covered by TPS remain authorized to stay and work in the United States for now. Federal records cited in prior DHS notices show the most recent 18-month El Salvador designation had been set to run through September 9, 2026.
That makes El Salvador an exception in the administration’s 2026 TPS rollback. AP reported that the Supreme Court ruled in June that the administration acted within its authority when it ended TPS for about 350,000 Haitians and roughly 6,000 Syrians. USCIS guidance later said Haiti’s TPS designation was terminated effective July 27, 2026.
The practical effect for Salvadorans is narrow but significant. Their status has not been newly extended, and DHS has not said how long the current protection will continue. Immigration lawyers and advocacy groups have said the government’s inaction preserved work authorization and deportation protection for now, but did not resolve the larger question of whether the administration will ultimately continue or end the program.
The decision matters most in places with large Salvadoran populations, including California, the Washington region, Texas, New York and Maryland, where families had been bracing for a possible cutoff this week. AP and local outlets reported that many Salvadoran TPS holders have lived in the United States since 2001, after earthquakes in El Salvador prompted the original designation. That means the current uncertainty affects not only workers but also mixed-status households, mortgages, businesses and U.S.-citizen children.
What is confirmed is that Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries remain protected unless and until DHS announces otherwise. What is not yet known is whether the administration will issue a full extension, a termination notice with a delayed end date, or another temporary administrative step. The government has not released a new nationwide breakdown of affected metro areas tied to this week’s decision.
Advocacy groups have argued that the scale is substantial. NPR Illinois, citing FWD.us, reported that more than 150,000 Salvadoran TPS holders contribute an estimated $5.4 billion to the U.S. economy each year and pay about $1.5 billion in federal and state taxes. The same report said Salvadoran TPS holders have had about 150,000 U.S.-born children over the life of the program.
Congress created TPS in 1990 to allow people from countries affected by war, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions to remain in the United States temporarily when return is unsafe. El Salvador received TPS after major earthquakes in 2001, while Haiti’s designation followed the 2010 earthquake. In both cases, the status was meant to be temporary, but repeated renewals kept many families in the United States for years.
The administration’s authority over that system widened after the Supreme Court’s June 25, 2026 decision in Mullin v. Doe. Court records and AP reporting show the ruling limited judicial review of the administration’s decision to end TPS for Haitians and Syrians, clearing the way for those terminations to take effect. That decision strengthened DHS’s leverage over every remaining TPS designation, including El Salvador’s.
What it means for residents now is continued uncertainty rather than a settled policy. Salvadorans with TPS can still lawfully work and remain in the country unless DHS announces a change, while Haitians whose TPS ended in July no longer have that blanket protection. DHS has said only that a decision on El Salvador will come later, leaving one of the nation’s longest-running TPS populations in place, but without a public explanation for why it received a temporary pass that Haitians did not.