The Office of Policy and Advocacy of the US bishops’ Secretariat of Migration has published a brief “Update on Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador.”
The update addresses two questions: “What is TPS and why is it important for Salvadorans in the United States?” and “How has the USCCB responded to this issue?”
“TPS is a temporary form of humanitarian relief for people from a designated country, allowing them to remain in the United States legally when conditions in their country of origin make safe return impractical or impossible due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, epidemics, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions,” the update stated. “In 2001, El Salvador first received its TPS designation after a devastating earthquake, and more than 200,000 Salvadorans were granted TPS. As of March 2025, over 170,000 Salvadorans had TPS.”