US Must Extend Temporary Protected Status For Honduran, Salvadoran Immigrants - Lawmaker

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th August, 2019) The United States must extend Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from El Salvador and Honduras, US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said on Monday upon the conclusion of his visit to the two countries.

"Temporary Protected Status for individuals from both countries must be immediately extended," Engel said in a statement.

Engel had joined during his visit House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers who reviewed the positive impact of US assistance in addressing the long-term challenges that drive child and family migration to the United States as well as the immigrants' Temporary Protected Status.

Engel said improving the rule of law in El Salvador will help create the conditions on the ground that encourage citizens to remain in the country and not make the dangerous journey north to the US-Mexico border.

In Honduras, the United States should also support a program fighting against corruption, Engel added.

The Temporary Protected Status was established by Congress through the Immigration Act of 1990. The renewable program allows foreign citizens who cannot safely return to their home countries as a result of military conflicts or natural disasters to legally reside in the United States.