AFT’s Weingarten on Trump’s Decision to End Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement on President Donald Trump’s recent decision to end temporary protected status for Salvadorans who came to the United States following massive earthquakes and armed conflict in El Salvador:

“Today’s decision by President Trump has once again exposed how politics now trump humanity. Since 2001, Salvadoran TPS holders have depended on this humanitarian protection to safeguard them from being deported to a country that continues to suffer from extreme violence and extraordinary conditions. 

“These workers and their families contribute to our economy and our country every day. They teach in our classrooms, care for patients and serve our communities. By ripping nearly 200,000 vulnerable Salvadoran TPS holders away from their children who are U.S. citizens—more than 270,000—Trump has doubled down on a policy that is cruel and will hurt America both now and in the future.

“These Salvadorans now join the hundreds of thousands of Haitian, Nicaraguan, Sudanese and other TPS holders whose American dreams have been upended by this administration’s termination of their temporary protected status.”