Trump Administration Lets Salvadoran TPS Deadline Pass, Leaves Holders In Legal Limbo
The Trump administration let the September 9, 2026 deadline for Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans pass without a formal decision, and the Department of Homeland Security said protections would remain in place until it announced next steps.[1]
DHS issued identical statements on Sept. 9 and again on Sept. 10 saying an announcement would come "at an appropriate time" and that TPS for El Salvador would remain in effect until then.[1] Immigration lawyers say federal law can automatically extend TPS by six months if the government truly takes no action by the deadline.[1] Advocates caution that DHS could still move to end TPS at any time, potentially with little public advance notice.[1]
President Biden granted an 18-month TPS extension for El Salvador that expired on Sept. 9, 2026.[1] In Trump's second term, DHS has already ended TPS for more than 1 million people from over a dozen countries.[1] About 103,000 people from Ukraine, Sudan and Lebanon still have TPS.[1] Salvadorans in the United States sent $9.9 billion in remittances to El Salvador in 2025, roughly 24 percent of that country's GDP, highlighting the economic stakes of any mass deportations.[1]
Tom Homan, a senior White House border adviser, said the decision rests with Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and argued that El Salvador is now "much safer" after President Nayib Bukele's crackdown.[1] The New York Times also reported that Trump officials said Salvadorans would keep TPS for now as the administration weighs its options.[2]
Show source details & analysis (3 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- The 18‑month Temporary Protected Status extension for El Salvador granted by President Biden expired on September 9, 2026, without a new formal DHS decision.
- DHS issued identical statements on September 9 and again on September 10, 2026, saying an announcement on Salvadoran TPS would come “at an appropriate time” and that TPS for El Salvador would remain in effect until then.
- Immigration lawyers note that under immigration law TPS is automatically extended for six months if the government truly takes no action by the deadline, which may apply here even absent a public DHS extension notice, but advocates warn DHS could still move to end TPS at any time, including with little advance public notice.
- In Trump’s second term, DHS has already ended TPS for more than 1 million people from over a dozen countries, while about 103,000 people from Ukraine, Sudan and Lebanon remain protected.
- Salvadorans in the U.S. sent $9.9 billion in remittances to El Salvador in 2025, roughly 24% of that country’s GDP, underscoring the economic stakes of any mass deportations.
- Tom Homan, Trump’s border adviser, said the El Salvador TPS decision rests with Secretary Markwayne Mullin and argued that El Salvador is now “much safer” because of President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown.
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- The NPR article published Friday, September 11, 2026, reports that roughly 170,000 Salvadoran TPS holders can still live and work legally in the U.S. because the Trump administration declined this week to terminate TPS at the September 9, 2026 deadline but has not said whether it will extend protections.
- NPR quotes a DHS statement saying the department will make an announcement on Salvadoran TPS "at the appropriate time," confirming that no formal extension or termination decision has yet been issued.
- The piece details 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, and that over roughly 25 years they have had about 150,000 U.S.-citizen children, citing advocacy group FWD.us.
- NPR notes that in his second term President Trump has ended TPS for more than 10 countries and that a June 2026 Supreme Court ruling held that the president has virtually unrestrained power to end TPS.
- National TPS Alliance coordinator Jose Palma tells NPR that at least one House bill to create a path to permanent residency for TPS holders is one Republican vote away from reaching the House floor.
- Francisco Semiao of the National Salvadoran American Association is quoted pressing Republicans for an 18‑month TPS extension framed as a humanitarian step rather than a broader immigration overhaul.
- The 18‑month Temporary Protected Status extension for El Salvador granted by President Biden expired on September 9, 2026, without a new formal DHS decision.
- On September 9 and again on September 10, 2026, DHS issued identical statements saying an announcement on Salvadoran TPS would come 'at an appropriate time' and that TPS for El Salvador would remain in effect until then.
- Immigration lawyers note that, under immigration law, TPS is automatically extended for six months if the government takes no action by the deadline, which may apply here even absent a public DHS extension notice.
- The article reports that in Trump’s second term DHS has already ended TPS for more than 1 million people from over a dozen countries, and that about 103,000 people from Ukraine, Sudan and Lebanon remain protected.
- The piece details that Salvadorans in the U.S. sent $9.9 billion in remittances to El Salvador in 2025, equal to roughly 24% of that country’s GDP, underscoring the economic stakes of any mass deportations.
- Tom Homan, Trump’s border adviser, is quoted saying the El Salvador TPS decision rests with Secretary Markwayne Mullin and arguing that El Salvador is now 'much safer' due to President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown.
- The article notes that under TPS law, any automatic six‑month extension would be triggered if the government truly takes no action, but advocates warn that DHS could still move to end TPS at any time, including without much advance public notice.