By Cora Engelbrecht and Israel Castro ~ Times Documentaries ~ January 7, 2018
Omar is one of 320,000 recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a humanitarian program extended to people already in the United States who have come from countries crippled by natural disasters or war. Some, who were living in the US illegally when the program began, were allowed to stay and work in the country. Salvadorans who cannot find another immigration status must leave the country.
Republicans and democrats have extended the Salvadoran designation 11 times since 2001, citing infrastructural challenges and violence. The Trump administration is taking a stricter approach to immigration and canceled the program for Nicaragua, Haiti, and now El Salvador. More than half of Salvadoran recipients have lived in the United States for over 20 years.
A recent report from the Center for Migration Studies estimates that 88 percent of them have jobs. 61 percent of Salvadoran parents with TPS have at least one US-born child. US-born children cannot sponsor their parents for a visa until they turn 21. TPS was not set up as a pathway to citizenship. Four bills are now in Congress that would allow current recipients to apply for permanent residency. This is the story of three generations of a Salvadoran family living with TPS.
To view documentary video, click on Photo
Source: By Cora Engelbrecht and Israel Castro ~ Times Documentaries
