Kirstjen Nielsen, the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, faces her first big test on immigration policy this week, with a decision that could result in as many as 250,000 Central American immigrants being forced to exit the US.
The deadline for a decision on the future of the Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador nationals is Monday. It is widely expected that the Department of Homeland Security will end the program, which granted the right to live and work in the US. The program currently covers over 260,000 nationals from El Salvador, according to figures from US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Almost 200,000 of those could end up losing the status, according to experts using previous estimates from the department.
Immigrants from El Salvador make up the biggest share of those protected by the Temporary Protected Status program, all of whom have been living in the US since at least 2001, with their status renewed every two years, so far. Although a decision has not yet been announced by the Department of Homeland Security, it has signaled a tougher approach in recent times.
This will be Nielsen’s first major decision on immigration policy. She has promised to carry on the work of her predecessor, John Kelly, who is now the chief of staff at the White House. Last fall, temporary protected status was ended for thousands of immigrants from Haiti and Nicaragua.