Regardless of any political affiliation we all should be concerned for the cancelation of TPS. TPS is a legal immigration status that has let more than 200,000 immigrants from El Salvador work and live legally in the US for the past 17 years. The average number of years that TPS holders have living in this country is 20 years. There are more than 120,000 people from other countries as well, like Honduras and Haiti. As business leaders we have the responsibility not just for our business but also for the lives of our fellow employees. Some of our employees have TPS and this news is a matter that concerns all business owners as well. Because the number one asset of any business is its people, we should protect our people.
The cancelation of TPS is a challenge for all Salvadorans but with this challenge we also have an opportunity. We can advocate for a path to a normalization of the fellows from our country. We as a chamber believe that people with TPS who have lived in this country for more than 17 years under this status should be able to obtain legal permanent residency. These people have renewed their status 11 times every 18 months and have passed a background check every time they renew. They have paid fees every time they renew and they pay taxes. TPS holders continue to be productive members of the American society.
Salvadorans with TPS are workers and 11% of them are business owners that hire other US citizens. A lot of US citizens had TPS before and throughout the years have found different ways to adjust their status.
According to the Center for the Migration Studies (CMS) about 30% of TPS holders are home owners and have a mortgage. A lot send money to El Salvador but they invest the vast majority of their income here in the US. They are consumers that stimulate the economy. Imagine for a moment all this homeowners not paying for their mortgage. The housing market will destabilize. The labor market will destabilize. Consumer confidence will drop and businesses in general will lose money. We are talking about 200,000 people that no longer go to the restaurants, no longer buy Christmas presents, no longer buy cars, no longer buy houses. These are legal immigrants that are productive. According to the Center for American Progress, if TPS holders are removed the US would lose $164 billion over the next decade. From an economic standpoint I don’t see why we have to choose to let these people go.
More than 60% of TPS holders have US citizen children. Most of these children have never seen El Salvador. TPS holders are American for any purpose, we should reward good behavior and tell the world that if you work hard, pay your taxes and be good you deserve the American Dream.
In these coming weeks we should take the leadership and ask our members of Congress to act and protect our people. Regardless of your political affiliation I believe that we share a common value of hard work and progress. I believe that what is good for Salvadorans is good for the Salvadoran American Chamber of Commerce. We will talk to members of Congress and ask them to help our community. We should support those members of Congress who are friends with our community and are open to our thoughts.
The cancellation of TPS is an attack on legal immigration, an attack to our businesses and an attack to our economy. Our members of Congress have to act now and they have to answer to our community whether they are in favor of letting our countrymen EARN their legal permanent residency or whether they do not believe that Salvadorans are a valuable sector of our society. Congress has to take a stand and we will remember those who stood by us and listened to us during these times.
Below I show you a sample letter sent by my good lawyer friend Luis Parada. You can use this letter as a template, add your own words if you wish, and send it to your representative in Congress and in the Senate. Our members of Congress will listen to us only if we ask them to listen to us. It is time for us to send them letters. YOU need to send a letter to your representative. This is the only way for us to gain the attention that our community deserves. The time is now!
Sincerely,
Jose Campos, esq.
President
This link will help you find your representative in Congress:
https://www.house.gov/representati…/find-your-representative
This link will help you find your representative in the Senate:
https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact
