With fewer than a week remaining before one of the most consequential immigration deadlines in recent memory, hundreds of thousands of Salvadoran nationals who have called the United States home for more than a quarter century are confronting a stark reality:
Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador is scheduled to terminate on September 9, 2026, ending the longest-running TPS designation in U.S. history, with approximately 232,000 Salvadoran nationals facing the loss of work authorization and deportation protection.
USCIS Confirms the Termination
On August 12, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an update confirming that the TPS designation of El Salvador and related benefits are set to terminate on September 9, 2026. Absent further litigation or a new designation, work authorization for El Salvador TPS holders lapses on that date.
USCIS is sending notices to El Salvador TPS recipients who continue to be eligible for TPS but haven't received renewal EADs with category codes A-12 or C-19 and whose TPS-based EAD application is still pending, informing them that their expired TPS-based EADs are extended until September 9, 2026.
USCIS will send the notices by mail and electronically to those who have a myUSCIS account.
For employers,
when completing the "Expiration Date" fields on Form I-9, the input in Section 1 and Section 2 should read "Sept. 9, 2026" along with a note in the Additional Information box. Employers may download the Alert and TPS El Salvador Automatic Employment Authorization extension webpage and attach them to Form I-9, along with the USCIS notice.
A 25-Year History Reaches Its End
The roots of El Salvador's TPS designation stretch back to a devastating natural disaster.
El Salvador was designated for TPS under President George W. Bush after it was struck by a catastrophic 7.6 magnitude earthquake on January 13, 2001, and further devastated by two powerful aftershock earthquakes on February 13 and February 17, 2001. The series of earthquakes resulted in 1,100 deaths and left more than 2,500 people missing. Nearly 8,000 suffered injuries. Seventeen percent of El Salvador's population — 1.3 million people — were displaced by the earthquakes and resulting landslides.
El Salvador was actually the first country to receive TPS and the only country to have been granted the status by Congress, through the Immigration Act of 1990 — a designation that expired in 1992. In 2001, the Bush administration designated El Salvador for TPS a second time, and the status has been continuously renewed since.
The most recent extension — an 18-month period running from March 10, 2025, through September 9, 2026 — was issued by then-Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on January 17, 2025, just days before leaving office, citing continued environmental conditions from earthquakes and severe weather events.
The current administration, under DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, declined to renew the designation.
The Supreme Court's Landmark Mullin v. Doe Ruling
The legal path to termination was cleared by the Supreme Court's pivotal decision in Mullin v. Doe.
On June 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Mullin v. Doe and Trump v. Miot that the federal government can terminate TPS for Haitian and Syrian nationals.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court reversed the district courts' orders and remanded the cases. In the majority opinion authored by Justice Alito, joined by Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Thomas, and Justice Kavanaugh, the Court held that the district courts erred in postponing the effective date of the TPS terminations during litigation.
The Court held that the TPS statute bars judicial review of any non-constitutional claims related to the designation, extension, or termination of TPS for a foreign state.
The ruling allows DHS to proceed with TPS terminations and could impact the viability of other legal challenges to the termination of TPS designations for other countries, some of which have also resulted in district court orders blocking those respective terminations.
For El Salvador's TPS beneficiaries, the decision effectively removed the primary legal mechanism that had kept protections in place through successive termination attempts.
The Human and Economic Stakes
The consequences of termination reach far beyond immigration paperwork.
More than 150,000 U.S.-citizen children have at least one parent with Salvadoran TPS. Immigrant advocacy organizations warn that the loss of protections could affect not only workers, but also thousands of mixed-status families who have spent more than 25 years building their lives in the United States.
Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries contribute approximately $5.4 billion annually to the U.S. economy and pay nearly $1.5 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. More than 152,000 currently participate in the workforce, primarily in construction, transportation, manufacturing, maintenance, food service, and other essential industries.
The regional economic impacts are also considerable.
Salvadoran TPS holders contribute billions each year to metro economies, including $965 million in Washington, D.C., $668 million in New York, $590 million in Houston, $555 million in Los Angeles, and $239 million in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Congressional Response and the Question of Alternatives
Congressman Tom Suozzi (NY-03) sent two letters to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, urging the administration to extend the TPS designation for El Salvador.
Secretary Mullin responded on July 2, 2026, with an explanation of alternative pathways TPS beneficiaries can pursue to stay in the United States. However, in a follow-up letter on July 3, 2026, Congressman Suozzi reiterated why those pathways the Secretary suggested are not viable for most Salvadoran TPS holders and warned that terminating the designation could tear apart families. With no path to permanent legal status for most of them, termination would be catastrophic.
Critically, the vast majority of Salvadoran TPS holders will be unable to qualify for alternative protections because if TPS expires and TPS holders are forced to leave the country, those who initially entered the U.S. without documentation prior to 2001 will be barred from returning or seeking permanent status for 10 years.
Rep. Suozzi proposed that if TPS is terminated, the administration should adopt a "parole in place" policy for TPS holders akin to its military parole in place policy, which would ensure that TPS holders who have immigrant visas available to them are able to adjust their status without requiring them to leave the U.S.
What TPS Beneficiaries Should Do Now
With only days remaining before the September 9 deadline, affected individuals need to take immediate steps to protect their interests:
- Check for USCIS notices. Individuals should monitor both physical mail and their myUSCIS accounts for notices regarding the automatic EAD extension through September 9, 2026.
- Consult with an immigration attorney. Given the complexity of the legal landscape and the limited alternatives available, seeking qualified legal counsel is essential. An experienced attorney can assess individual circumstances and identify any potential pathways to legal status.
- Gather and preserve records. TPS holders should compile copies of all TPS-related documentation, tax records, proof of continuous residence, and any other evidence of their ties to the United States.
- Understand employer obligations.
- Explore all available options. While the Secretary's suggested alternative pathways have been criticized as insufficient for most beneficiaries, some individuals may qualify for family-based immigration petitions, asylum, or other forms of relief depending on their specific circumstances.
Looking Ahead
The termination of TPS for El Salvador marks a watershed moment in U.S. immigration policy.
As the Court noted, Congress created TPS in 1990 to provide short-term humanitarian relief for individuals who cannot safely return to their home countries. Although designed to afford temporary relief, TPS designations in practice have often lasted for decades.
Members of Congress have warned that termination would send well-settled community members to a country beset by documented state-sponsored human rights abuses. If TPS is terminated and there is no legislative or administrative action, Salvadoran TPS holders are at risk of the immediate loss of legal status, deportation, and family separation.
As the September 9 deadline approaches, all eyes remain on whether any last-minute judicial, legislative, or administrative action could alter the course for hundreds of thousands of families whose futures hang in the balance.
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Individuals affected by the TPS termination should consult with a qualified immigration attorney to discuss their specific circumstances and options.