Highland Park - Following the Trump Administration decision Monday to discontinue Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Salvadorans living and working in the United States, Illinois Attorney General Candidate Nancy Rotering released the following statement:
"Once again, the Trump Administration is punishing immigrant communities in Illinois and the United States. More than 1,300 Salvadorans legally live, work, and pay taxes in Illinois. These are people who not only contribute to our economy, they help make up the diverse communities that make Illinois stronger."
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Since 2001, hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans have been living in the United States. Illinois has more than 1,300 - with more than 1,000 US-born children from those TPS-holding parents. More than $69 million would be lost from Illinois' economy without Salvadoran workers who hold TPS.[1] El Salvador reports some of the highest homicide rates in the world, and is plagued by chronic gang violence. Returning 200,00 people to the country would prove daunting, and equates to approximately 3 percent of El Salvador's population.[2]
"Trump made this same cruel decision last year for Haitians, and what held true then holds true here as well: this will devastate families, negatively impact our economy, and reeks of discrimination under the guise of security. Labor unions and Chambers of Commerce agree that TPS is good for our country, and as Attorney General, I would leverage the power of the office to urge President Trump and Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to extend TPS to Salvadoran nationals, allowing them to live safely in Illinois and contribute to our communities and economy."
Last November, Mayor Rotering made the same plea to the Trump Administration on behalf of the 15,000 Haitians in Illinois to exercise their authority under Section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to continue to extend TPS to Haitian nationals.
