Local newspaper addresses Frederick's Salvadoran TPS Holders

Find the FNP's article on Salvadoran TPS holders, in which Movahed & Fisher Law contributeshere.

Read excerpts from the article below:

"While they could initiate deportation proceedings, that also comes with a hefty price tag, noted Sara Movahed, an immigration attorney with local firm Movahed & Fisher Law.

Critics of the decision have highlighted the economic consequences of losing these workers and taxpayers. Of Salvadoran permit holders nationwide, 88 percent are employed, with a median household income of $50,000. A third have mortgages and 56 percent have health insurance, according to the Center for Migration Studies report.

The end of the program could also hurt El Salvador’s economy; the estimated $4.5 billion TPS beneficiaries sent back to El Salvador in 2016 comprises about 17 percent of the country’s GDP, according to the World Bank.

Movahed also warned of the negative effect on labor conditions as a whole. The former TPS-holders who become undocumented and may find work under the table are unlikely to complain or report poor working conditions, lowering the standard to which employers are held accountable for safe and humane work environments, she said.

And the consequences for TPS families, separated or forced into hiding by the program’s end, will be “devastating,” said George Escobar, director of services for CASA de Maryland, a state Hispanic services and advocacy group.

“These are folks, many of them, who’ve been in this country for 15-plus years,” Escobar said. “They have kids, jobs, whole lives here.”

From a legal standing, there is little ground to challenge the decision, Movahed and Konare agreed. The temporary nature of the permit, as its name implies, largely rules out any sort of constitutional claim.

The best chance at reversal lies with Congress, according to Movahed. Several bills have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate that could alleviate or counteract the impact of the Trump administration’s decision. Maryland Democratic Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, along with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), in November introduced the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and Emergency Act (SECURE) Act, which lets TPS holders and their families apply for legal permanent residency."