Salvadoran TPS Holders Generate $5.4 Billion for the U.S. Economy Annually
WASHINGTON, D.C. – One day before the administration’s July 11th deadline to determine whether Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador will be extended or terminated, FWD.us and the National TPS Alliance released updated data demonstrating that El Salvador’s TPS is not only lifesaving for American families but vital to the U.S. economy and the fabric of American communities. Some 170,000 Salvadoran TPS holders, many of whom have lived and worked in the United States for 25 years, could lose their protections when the designation expires on September 9, 2026. The administration has already terminated TPS for more than ten countries. A similar decision for El Salvador would upend the lives of the longest-tenured TPS holders in the country and the families, businesses, and communities that rely on them.
Salvadorans are the longest-tenured TPS population in the country. They were first protected in 2001, and for a quarter century they have raised U.S. citizen children, bought homes, built businesses, and anchored essential industries. The key findings in the new fact sheet show what we have always known: TPS holders are deeply rooted in their families, communities, and the economy. Stripping away these protections would put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk and diminish the very workforce and families that strengthen America.
“Revoking TPS for El Salvador would be a cruel step that would not only throw hundreds of thousands of people's lives into chaos, but would rip billions out of the U.S. economy and destabilize communities nationwide,” said Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us. “There are nearly 200,000 current TPS holders from El Salvador — and every one of them has lived in the US for over 25 years. They have hundreds of thousands of US citizen spouses and children and Salvadoran TPS holders contribute $5.4 billion annually to the economy, pay $1.5 billion in taxes, and are critical parts of the construction, transportation, manufacturing, food service economy — to name only a few sectors. For decades, presidents from both parties have used TPS to protect families and strengthen communities, and keeping these protections in place is not only the right thing to do, it is smart economic policy and unequivocally good for America.”
“For 25 years, Salvadoran TPS holders have built this country while building lives of our own. We have raised children, bought homes, started businesses, cared for our neighbors, volunteered at churches, and put our lives at risk to care for US citizens during COVID-19 all across America,” said Jose Palma, National Coordinator of the National TPS Alliance and Salvadoran TPS holder. “We are not temporary—we are part of the fabric of this nation. Ending TPS for El Salvador would tear families apart, punish people who followed every rule, renewed their status year after year, and contributed to this country with their work and sacrifice. We call on the Administration to extend TPS and on Congress to finally provide a pathway to permanent residency so that families who have spent decades contributing to this country are no longer forced to live from one renewal to the next.”
Key Findings of the Fact Sheet:
- Salvadoran TPS holders generate an estimated $5.4 billion for the U.S. economy each year and annually pay $1.5 billion in combined federal, state, and local taxes.
- 152,000 Salvadoran TPS holders are already in the U.S. workforce, working in critical industries, including 36,000 construction workers, 32,000 building and grounds workers, 23,000 transportation workers, 18,000 manufacturing workers, and 12,000 food service workers.
- More than 150,000 U.S. citizen children depend on their Salvadoran TPS parent’s contributions to the U.S. workforce.
- 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.
Temporary Protected Status was created to keep families safe and together when their home countries are ravaged by war, disaster, or deep instability. For more than two decades, Republican and Democratic administrations have extended protections for El Salvador on the basis of broad agreement on two points: the critical role TPS holders play in our communities and workforce, and the disruption that mass termination would inflict on American families and businesses. Forcing 152,000 workers out of their jobs would drive up costs for everyday Americans, raising the prices of food, housing construction, health care, and critical services.
Read the fact sheet HERE.
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