Planned Parenthood Denounces Decision to End TPS for Salvadorans

WASHINGTON, DC — The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that it will end temporary protected status (TPS) for Salvadorans, leaving nearly 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants without protection and possibly facing deportation if they don’t leave the country by September 2019.

Ending TPS designations places countless lives at risk of deportation, sending people back to life-threatening conditions, and will tear parents from their U.S. citizen children. Roughly 193,000 U.S. citizen children have a Salvadoran parent who has TPS. TPS recipients are our neighbors, community leaders, patients, and supporters who have lived and worked in the United States for decades. This week’s decision threatens to rip thousands of families apart, disrupt our communities, and put their access to health care at risk. El Salvador’s draconian laws criminalizing abortion present a specific threat to women, including those who have experienced miscarriages, stillbirth, and pregnancy complications.

Statement from Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

Living in a safe and healthy environment, alongside your family, is part of living a healthy and complete life. The Trump administration is threatening people who have built their lives and livelihoods in the United States and terrorizing children who are U.S. citizens and who have known no other home than America. When those who have been supporting their families for years are driven into the shadows, it’s difficult to live with dignity and without fear, and nearly impossible to access health care. No one’s health should be compromised because of their immigration status. Planned Parenthood is proud to see patients regardless of immigration status and will continue to do so — no matter what.

With the administration’s decision to end TPS for Haitians, Nicaraguans, and now Salvadorans, it is possible that around 300,000 people will be forced to go back to their home countries. TPS protects individuals and families who would otherwise be in harm’s way in their countries of origin, which are recovering from catastrophic events such as natural disaster, war, famine, or disease.

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Planned Parenthood is one of the nation’s leading providers and advocates of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.