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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 118 (Wednesday, June 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40282-40294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13018]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
[CIS No. 2732-22; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2008-0034]
RIN 1615-ZB71
Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the Designation
of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status; Extension of the
Temporary Protected Status Designation for El Salvador
AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department
of Homeland Security (DHS).
ACTION: Notice of Reconsideration and Rescission of Termination of the
Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and
Notice of Extension of TPS Designation for El Salvador.
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SUMMARY: Through this notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) is
rescinding the previous termination of the designation of El Salvador
for TPS, which was published on January 18, 2018 and extending the
designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18
months, beginning on September 10, 2023, and ending on March 9, 2025.
This extension allows existing TPS beneficiaries to retain TPS through
March 9, 2025, so long as they otherwise continue to meet the
eligibility requirements for TPS. Existing TPS beneficiaries who wish
to extend their status through March 9, 2025, must re-register during
the 60-day re-registration period as described in this notice.
DATES: The Rescission of Termination of the Designation of El Salvador
for TPS took effect June 9, 2023.
Extension of Designation of El Salvador for TPS: The 18-month
extension of TPS for El Salvador begins on September 10, 2023, and will
remain in effect through March 9, 2025. The extension impacts existing
beneficiaries of TPS under the designation of El Salvador.
Re-registration: The 60-day re-registration period for existing
beneficiaries runs from July 12, 2023 through September 10, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
You may contact Ren[aacute] Cutlip-Mason, Chief,
Humanitarian Affairs Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security,
by mail at 5900 Capital Gateway Drive, Camp Springs, MD 20746, or by
phone at 800-375-5283.
For further information on TPS, including guidance on the
registration process and additional information on eligibility, please
visit the USCIS TPS web page at https://www.uscis.gov/tps. You can find
specific information about El Salvador's TPS designation by selecting
``El Salvador'' from the menu on the left side of the TPS web page.
If you have additional questions about TPS, please visit
uscis.gov/tools. Our online virtual assistant, Emma, can answer many of
your questions and point you to additional information on our website.
If you are unable to find your answers there, you may also call our
USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).
Applicants seeking information about the status of their
individual cases may check Case Status Online, available on the USCIS
website at uscis.gov, or visit the USCIS Contact Center at https://www.uscis.gov/contactcenter.
Further information will also be available at local USCIS
offices upon publication of this notice.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Abbreviations
BIA--Board of Immigration Appeals
CFR--Code of Federal Regulations
DHS--U.S. Department of Homeland Security
DOS--U.S. Department of State
EAD--Employment Authorization Document
FNC--Final Nonconfirmation
Form I-131--Application for Travel Document
Form I-765--Application for Employment Authorization
Form I-797--Notice of Action
Form I-821--Application for Temporary Protected Status
Form I-9--Employment Eligibility Verification
Form I-912--Request for Fee Waiver
Form I-94--Arrival/Departure Record
FR--Federal Register
Government--U.S. Government
IER--U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Immigrant
and Employee Rights Section
IJ--Immigration Judge
INA--Immigration and Nationality Act
SAVE--USCIS Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program
Secretary--Secretary of Homeland Security
[[Page 40283]]
TPS--Temporary Protected Status
TTY--Text Telephone
USCIS--U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S.C.--United States Code
Purpose of This Action (TPS)
Through this notice, DHS announces the reconsideration and
rescission of the termination of the designation of El Salvador for TPS
and the Secretary's decision to extend the TPS designation for 18
months from September 10, 2023 through March 9, 2025. This notice also
sets forth procedures necessary for nationals of El Salvador (or
individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in El
Salvador) to re-register for TPS and to apply for renewal of their EADs
with USCIS.
Re-registration is limited to individuals who have previously
registered or re-registered for TPS under El Salvador's designation,
whose applications were granted, and whose TPS has not been withdrawn
for individual ineligibility for the benefit. Failure to re-register
properly within the 60-day re-registration period may result in the
withdrawal of your TPS following appropriate procedures. See 8 CFR
244.14.
For individuals who have already been granted TPS under El
Salvador's designation, the 60-day re-registration period runs from
July 12, 2023 through September 10, 2023. USCIS will issue new EADs
with a March 9, 2025 expiration date to eligible Salvadoran TPS
beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs.
Individuals who have an El Salvador TPS application (Form I-821)
and Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) that were
still pending as of June 21, 2023 do not need to file either
application again. If USCIS approves an individual's pending Form I-
821, USCIS will grant the individual TPS through March 9, 2025.
Similarly, if USCIS approves a pending TPS-related Form I-765 filed in
connection with a Form I-821, USCIS will issue the individual a new EAD
that will be valid through the same date. If you have TPS and only a
pending Form I-765, you must file the Form I-821 to re-register for TPS
or risk having your TPS withdrawn for failure to timely re-register
without good cause. There are currently approximately 239,000
beneficiaries under El Salvador's TPS designation who may be eligible
to continue their TPS under the extension announced in this Notice.
What is Temporary Protected Status (TPS)?
TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible
nationals of a foreign state designated for TPS under the INA, or to
eligible individuals without nationality who last habitually resided in
the designated foreign state before arrival in the United States,
regardless of their country of birth.
During the TPS designation period, TPS beneficiaries are
eligible to remain in the United States, may not be removed, and are
authorized to obtain EADs so long as they continue to meet the
requirements of TPS.
TPS beneficiaries may also apply for and be granted travel
authorization as a matter of DHS discretion.
To qualify for TPS, beneficiaries must meet the
eligibility standards at INA section 244(c)(1)-(2), 8 U.S.C.
1254a(c)(1)-(2).
When the Secretary terminates a foreign state's TPS
designation, beneficiaries return to one of the following:
[cir] The same immigration status or category that they maintained
before TPS, if any (unless that status or category has since expired or
terminated); or
[cir] Any other lawfully obtained immigration status or category
they received while registered for TPS, as long as it is still valid
beyond the date TPS terminates.
When was El Salvador designated for TPS?
El Salvador was initially designated for TPS on the basis of
environmental disaster, following two separate massive earthquakes in
2001 \1\ that resulted in a substantial disruption of living
conditions, at the request of the country's government, and because El
Salvador temporarily was unable to handle adequately the return of its
nationals. See Designation of El Salvador Under Temporary Protected
Status Program, 66 FR 14214 (Mar. 9, 2001). After its initial
designation, El Salvador's TPS designation was extended 11 consecutive
times \2\ (for periods of 12 or 18 months at a time) under the same
statutory basis of environmental disaster. The Secretary last extended
TPS for El Salvador from July 8, 2016 through March 9, 2018.\3\
Following the statutorily required review of the country conditions,
former Secretary Nielsen announced the termination of TPS for El
Salvador with an effective date of September 9, 2019.\4\ As discussed
below, this termination decision has been the subject of litigation and
a court order. As a result, the termination has not taken effect.
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\1\ El Salvador--Earthquakes Final Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year (FY)
2001, US Agency for International Development Situation Report,
Sept. 7, 2001, available at https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/el-salvador-earthquakes-final-fact-sheet-fiscal-year-fy-2001 (last visited March 6, 2023). (The first earthquake on January
13, 2001, registered 7.6 in magnitude on the standard seismic scale;
the earthquake on February 13, 2001, one month later, measured 6.6
in magnitude.)
\2\ Extension of the Designation of El Salvador Under the
Temporary Protected Status Program; Automatic Extension of
Employment Authorization Documentation for Salvadorans, 67 FR 46000
(July 11, 2002); Extension of the Designation of El Salvador Under
Temporary Protected Status Program; Automatic Extension of
Employment Authorization Documentation for El Salvador, 68 FR 42071
(July 16, 2003); Extension of the Designation of Temporary Protected
Status for El Salvador; Automatic Extension of Employment
Authorization Documentation for El Salvador TPS Beneficiaries, 70 FR
1450 (Jan. 7, 2005); Extension of the Designation of Temporary
Protected Status for El Salvador; Automatic Extension of Employment
Authorization Documentation for El Salvadorian TPS Beneficiaries, 71
FR 34637 (June 15, 2006); Extension of the Designation of El
Salvador for Temporary Protected Status; Automatic Extension of
Employment Authorization Documentation for Salvadoran TPS
Beneficiaries, 72 FR 46649 (Aug. 21, 2007); Extension of the
Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status, 73 FR
57128 (Oct. 1, 2008); Extension of the Designation of El Salvador
for Temporary Protected Status and Automatic Extension of Employment
Authorization Documentation for Salvadoran TPS Beneficiaries, 75 FR
39556 (July 9, 2010); Extension of the Designation of El Salvador
for Temporary Protected Status and Automatic Extension of Employment
Authorization Documentation for Salvadoran TPS Beneficiaries, 77 FR
1710 (Jan. 11, 2012); Extension of the Designation of El Salvador
for Temporary Protected Status, 78 FR 32418, (May 30, 2013);
Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected
Status, 80 FR 893 (Jan. 7, 2015); Extension of the Designation of El
Salvador for Temporary Protected Status, 81 FR 44645 (July 8, 2016).
\3\ Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary
Protected Status, 81 FR 44645 (July 8, 2016).
\4\ Termination of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary
Protected Status, 83 FR 2654 (Jan. 18, 2018).
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[[Page 40284]]
Litigation Background Regarding Termination of Certain TPS Designations
In addition to El Salvador, in 2017-2018, TPS termination decisions
were also announced for five other countries by the Secretary or Acting
Secretary: Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, Nepal, and Honduras.\5\ Lawsuits
challenging the terminations were filed in the U.S. District Court for
the Northern District of California in Ramos v. Nielsen, 326 F. Supp.
3d 1075 (N.D. Cal. 2018), and Bhattarai v. Nielsen, No. 19-cv-00731
(N.D. Cal. Mar. 12, 2019), and in the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of New York in Saget v. Trump, 375 F. Supp. 3d 280
(E.D.N.Y. 2019).\6\ In Ramos, the district court granted a preliminary
injunction enjoining the terminations of TPS for El Salvador, Haiti,
Sudan, and Nicaragua and directed DHS to maintain the status quo and to
continue the TPS and TPS-related documentation of affected TPS
beneficiaries under those countries' designations. The U.S. Government
appealed, and a three-judge panel vacated the injunction. The appellate
court, however, has granted rehearing en banc of the panel decision,
vacating the panel's decision.\7\ The district court's preliminary
injunction thus remains in place. In Bhattarai, the district court has
stayed proceedings until the Ramos appeal is decided and approved the
parties' stipulation for the continuation of TPS and TPS-related
documentation for eligible, affected beneficiaries of TPS for Honduras
and Nepal during the stay and pendency of the Ramos appeal. In Saget,
the district court granted a preliminary injunction enjoining
termination of TPS for Haiti, and the Government appealed. However,
following the new TPS designation of Haiti in August 2021, the district
court dismissed the lawsuit based on the parties' stipulation to
dismissal.\8\ Beneficiaries under the TPS designations for El Salvador,
Nicaragua, Sudan, Haiti, Honduras, and Nepal will retain their TPS
while the preliminary injunction in Ramos remains in effect, and 120
days thereafter, provided that their TPS is not withdrawn because of
individual ineligibility.\9\
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\5\ Termination of the Designation of Sudan for Temporary
Protected Status, 82 FR 47228 (Oct. 11, 2017); Termination of the
Designation of Nicaragua for Temporary Protected Status, 82 FR 59636
(Dec. 15, 2017); Termination of the Designation of Haiti for
Temporary Protected Status, 83 FR 2648 (Jan. 18, 2018); Termination
of the Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status, 83 FR
23705 (May 22, 2018); Termination of the Designation of Honduras for
Temporary Protected Status, 83 FR 26074 (June 5, 2018). Haiti and
Sudan were later newly designated for TPS on August 3, 2021 and
April 19, 2022, respectively, for 18 months. See Designation of
Haiti for Temporary Protected Status, 86 FR 41863 (Aug. 3, 2021);
Designation of Sudan for Temporary Protected Status, 87 FR 23202
(Apr. 19, 2022).
\6\ See Ramos v. Nielsen, 336 F. Supp. 3d 1075 (N.D. Cal. 2018),
vacated, 975 F.3d 872 (9th Cir. 2020), reh'g en banc granted, 59
F.4th 1010 (Feb. 10, 2023); Bhattarai v. Nielsen, No. 19-cv-00731
(N.D. Cal. Mar. 12, 2019) (staying proceedings until Ramos appeal
decided and approved parties' stipulation for continued TPS and
issuance of TPS-related documentation to eligible, affected
beneficiaries of TPS for Honduras and Nepal during the stay and
pendency of the appeal). In 2019, the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of New York also enjoined the termination of the
2011 TPS designation for Haiti in Saget v. Trump, 375 F. Supp. 3d
280 (E.D.N.Y. 2019), and DHS cited to that order in previous notices
continuing the affected beneficiaries' TPS and documentation. See,
e.g., 86 FR 50725, 50726 (Sept. 10, 2021). However, the Saget case
was dismissed upon the court's approval of the parties' joint
Stipulation of Dismissal for mootness following the Secretary's new
18-month designation of Haiti for TPS on August 3, 2021, and DHS'
continuation of existing beneficiaries' TPS and related
documentation under the Ramos injunction through Dec. 31, 2022. See
id., Order approving Stipulation of Dismissal, dated Oct. 15, 2021.
Other litigation was filed relating to the terminations of El
Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. A Haiti-related case, NAACP v. U.S.
Dept. of Homeland Security, No. 1:18-cv-00239 (D. Md. Jan. 24, 2018)
was dismissed on May 22, 2021, subsequent to the same DHS
designation. An El Salvador-related case, Casa de Maryland, v.
Biden, No. GJH-18-00845 (D. Md. Mar. 23, 2018), is currently stayed
until April 17, 2023. Centro Presente v. Biden, No. 1:18-cv-10340
(D. Mass. July 23, 2018), relating to El Salvador, Haiti, and
Honduras, is currently stayed until April 14, 2023.
\7\ See Ramos v. Wolf, 975 F.3d 872 (9th Cir. 2020), petition
for reh'g en banc granted, 59 F.4th 1010 (Feb. 10, 2023) (No. 18-
16981).
\8\ See Saget v. Trump, 375 F. Supp. 3d 280 (E.D.N.Y. 2019) and
Order approving Stipulation of Dismissal, dated Oct. 15, 2021.
\9\ As noted, Haiti was newly designated for TPS on August 3,
2021 for 18 months. See Designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected
Status, 86 FR 41863 (Aug. 3, 2021). On April 19, 2022, the Secretary
also newly designated Sudan TPS. See Designation of Sudan for
Temporary Protected Status, 87 FR 23202 (Apr. 19, 2022). Those
designations cover all Haitian and Sudanese nationals who were
eligible for TPS under the Haiti and Sudan TPS designations that
were terminated in 2018 and 2017, respectively.
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DHS has taken actions to ensure its continued compliance with the
court orders in Ramos and Bhattarai. DHS has published periodic notices
to continue TPS and extend the validity of TPS-related documentation
previously issued to beneficiaries under the TPS designations for El
Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal.\10\ The most
recent such notice continued TPS and extended the TPS-related documents
specified in the notice through June 30, 2024.\11\ These extensions
apply where the TPS beneficiary properly filed for re-registration
during either the most recent DHS-announced registration period for
their country, or any applicable previous DHS-announced re-registration
periods for the beneficiary's country, or has a re-registration
application that remains pending.\12\ Although the notice published at
87 FR 68717 remains valid, individuals who wish to remain eligible for
TPS under the extension of TPS for El Salvador announced in this notice
through March 9, 2025, and any potential future extensions must apply
for re-registration in accordance with the procedures announced in this
notice.\13\ Failure to timely re-register without good cause is a
ground for TPS withdrawal. See INA section 244(c)(3)(C), 8 U.S.C.
1254a(c)(3)(C); 8 CFR 244.17.
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\10\ 83 FR 54764 (Oct. 31, 2018); 84 FR 7103 (Mar. 1, 2019); 84
FR 20647 (May 10, 2019) (correction notice issued at 84 FR 23578
(May 22, 2019)); 84 FR 59403 (Nov. 4, 2019); 85 FR 79208 (Dec. 9,
2020); 86 FR 50725 (Sept. 10, 2021) (correction notice issued at 86
FR 52694 (Sept. 22, 2021)).
\11\ Continuation of Documentation for Beneficiaries of
Temporary Protected Status Designations of El Salvador, Haiti,
Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal, 87 FR 68717 (Nov. 16, 2022).
\12\ Id., at 68719, note 5 (listing acceptable re-registration
periods for each of the 6 countries).
\13\ Through the re-registration process, which is generally
conducted every 12 to 18 months while a foreign state is designated
for TPS, USCIS determines whether each TPS beneficiary is continuing
to maintain individual eligibility for TPS, including but not
limited to, the requirements related to disqualifying criminal or
security issues. Continuation of Documentation for Beneficiaries of
Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Haiti,
Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal, 87 FR 68717, 68720 (Nov. 16,
2022) (noting potential future action for El Salvador TPS
beneficiaries may include a requirement to re-register).
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What authority does the Secretary have to reconsider and rescind the
termination of TPS for El Salvador and extend the prior designation?
Section 244(b)(1) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1), authorizes the
Secretary, after consultation with appropriate agencies of the U.S.
Government, to designate a foreign state (or part thereof) for TPS if
the Secretary determines that certain country conditions exist.\14\ The
decision to designate any foreign state
[[Page 40285]]
(or part thereof) is a discretionary decision, and there is no judicial
review of any determination with respect to the designation,
termination, or extension of a designation. See INA section
244(b)(5)(A); 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(5)(A).
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\14\ Although the text of INA section 244(b)(1) continues to
ascribe this power to the Attorney General, this authority is now
held by the Secretary of Homeland Security by operation of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135. See,
e.g., 6 U.S.C. 557; Nielsen v. Preap, 139 S. Ct. 954, 959 n.2
(2019). The Secretary may designate a country (or part of a country)
for TPS on the basis of ongoing armed conflict such that returning
would pose a serious threat to the personal safety of the country's
nationals and habitual residents, environmental disaster (including
an epidemic), or extraordinary and temporary conditions in the
country that prevent the safe return of the country's nationals. For
environmental disaster-based designations, certain other statutory
requirements must be met, including that the foreign government must
request TPS. A designation based on extraordinary and temporary
conditions cannot be made if the Secretary finds that allowing the
country's nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is
contrary to the U.S. national interest. INA section 244(b)(1).
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At least 60 days before the expiration of a foreign state's TPS
designation, the Secretary, after consultation with appropriate U.S.
Government agencies, must review the conditions in the foreign state
designated for TPS to determine whether they continue to meet the
conditions for the TPS designation. See INA section 244(b)(3)(A), 8
U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(A). If the Secretary determines that the foreign
state no longer meets the conditions for TPS designation, the Secretary
must terminate the designation. See INA section 244(b)(3)(B), 8 U.S.C.
1254a(b)(3)(B). If the Secretary does not determine that the foreign
state no longer meets the conditions for TPS designation, the
designation is extended for an additional period of 6 months or, in the
Secretary's discretion, 12 or 18 months. See INA section 244(b)(3)(A),
(C); 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(A), (C).
On January 18, 2018, the Secretary of Homeland Security issued
notice of her decision that El Salvador no longer continued to meet the
conditions for TPS designation and announced the termination of TPS for
El Salvador. The Secretary also announced an orderly transition period
of 18 months, such that the termination was set to go into effect on
September 9, 2019. On March 12, 2018, as noted above, plaintiffs in
Ramos filed suit challenging the termination decision for El Salvador,
as well as contemporaneous decisions to terminate TPS for Nicaragua,
Sudan, and Haiti. On October 3, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction order
in Ramos, preventing the termination decision from going into effect
until the court reaches a decision on the merits of the plaintiffs'
claims and further directing that DHS maintain the status quo,
including continuing TPS and TPS-related documentation, such as
Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), for affected beneficiaries.
After reaching a stipulation with plaintiffs that no termination would
go in effect for at least 120 days following the conclusion of any
appeal, DHS has issued a series of Federal Register notices continuing
TPS and TPS-related documentation for affected TPS beneficiaries, with
the most recent continuation notice effective through June 30,
2024.\15\ As a result, the announced termination of the TPS designation
for El Salvador has never gone into effect, and TPS beneficiaries under
that designation have retained their TPS, unless it has been
individually withdrawn pursuant to INA section 244(c)(3), 8 U.S.C.
1254a(c)(3).
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\15\ See note 13 above.
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An agency has inherent (that is, statutorily implicit) authority to
revisit its prior decisions unless Congress has expressly limited that
authority.\16\ The TPS statute does not limit the Secretary's inherent
authority to reconsider any TPS-related determination, and upon
reconsideration, to change the determination. See INA sections
244(b)(3), (b)(5)(A); 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3), (b)(5)(A).
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\16\ Ivy Sports Medicine, LLC v. Burwell, 767 F.3d 81, 86 (D.C.
Cir. 2014) (``[A]dministrative agencies are assumed to possess at
least some inherent authority to revisit their prior decisions, at
least if done in a timely fashion. . . . [I]nherent authority for
timely administrative reconsideration is premised on the notion that
the power to reconsider is inherent in the power to decide.''
(quotation marks and citations omitted)); Macktal v. Chao, 286 F.3d
822, 825-26 (5th Cir. 2002) (``It is generally accepted that in the
absence of a specific statutory limitation, an administrative agency
has the inherent authority to reconsider its decisions.'')
(collecting cases); Mazaleski v. Treusdell, 562 F.2d 701, 720 (D.C.
Cir. 1977) (``We have many times held that an agency has the
inherent power to reconsider and change a decision if it does so
within a reasonable period of time.'').
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Why is the Secretary rescinding the previous decision to terminate the
TPS designation for El Salvador?
After conducting an independent assessment of the country
conditions in El Salvador as they existed in 2018 and exist today, the
Secretary has determined that El Salvador's 2001 TPS designation should
not have been terminated. As explained below, the conditions in El
Salvador that gave rise to its TPS designation in 2001 persisted in
2018 and persist to this day. Accordingly, the Secretary is, upon
reconsideration, vacating the 2018 decision terminating El Salvador's
TPS designation and extending that designation for an additional 18
months.
El Salvador was initially designated for TPS in 2001 on
environmental disaster grounds \17\ following two separate earthquakes
that occurred that year. El Salvador suffered catastrophic damage as a
result of the 2001 earthquakes. Together, the earthquakes killed over
1,150 people,\18\ injured over 8,000, and affected more than 1.5
million people \19\ (approximately 25 percent of the population \20\).
The earthquakes damaged or destroyed over 300,000 homes, 2,647 public
schools and demolished critical infrastructure throughout the
country.\21\ The international community responded to the disaster with
a significant amount of aid, with the United States initially providing
$16 million in relief assistance and announcing another $52 million for
reconstruction assistance.\22\ Intergovernmental organizations and
other governments also provided substantial aid, including a $20
million emergency loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB),
$4 million for World Food Programme (WFP) emergency operations, and
$1.3 billion in pledges from various countries.\23\
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\17\ Designation of El Salvador Under Temporary Protected Status
Program, 66 FR 14214 (Mar. 9, 2001).
\18\ Earthquakes Fast Facts, CNN Editorial Research, June 22,
2022, available at https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/05/world/earthquakes-fast-facts/index.html (last visited March 6, 2023).
\19\ El Salvador--Earthquakes Final Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year (FY)
2001, US Agency for International Development Situation Report,
Sept. 7, 2001, available at https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/el-salvador-earthquakes-final-fact-sheet-fiscal-year-fy-2001 (last visited March 6, 2023).
\20\ El Salvador Earthquakes: Final Fact Sheet (FY 2001); AFSC
El Salvador earthquake response: Two years later--An assessment and
report, American Friends Service Committee, May 15, 2003, available
visited March 6, 2023).
\21\ El Salvador Earthquakes: Final Fact Sheet (FY 2001); AFSC
El Salvador earthquake response: Two years later--An assessment and
report, American Friends Service Committee, May 15, 2003, available
visited March 6, 2023).
\22\ Statement by the President: Relief and Reconstruction
Assistance for El Salvador, March 2, 2001, https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/03/20010302-9.html (last
visited: March 6, 2023).
\23\ El Salvador--Earthquakes Final Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year (FY)
2001, Sept. 7, 2001, https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/el-salvador-earthquakes-final-fact-sheet-fiscal-year-fy-2001 (last
visited: March 6, 2023).
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While some progress on reconstruction projects had been made by
2018, many of the problems caused by the 2001 earthquakes
persisted.\24\ Since the disastrous effects of the earthquakes in 2001,
El Salvador has
[[Page 40286]]
been encumbered by several natural disasters, environmental challenges,
high levels of violence, and economic instability, all of which
significantly slowed its recovery and continued to render El Salvador
unable to handle the return of its nationals at the time of the
decision to terminate the designation.\25\
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\24\ A January 2016 report by a Salvadoran media outlet found
individuals living in homes in San Salvador (El Salvador's capital
city) which were declared uninhabitable due to structural damage
from the 2001 earthquakes or their locations in areas at high risk
from landslides or the potential collapse of walls. While schools
have been reconstructed and repaired--including via the U.S. Agency
for International Development's (USAID) Earthquake Reconstruction
Program--in January 2016 a Salvadoran media outlet reported that
certain buildings and schools damaged by the 2001 earthquakes had
not yet been repaired or rebuilt. Joma, Susana, Edificios
da[ntilde]ados por los terremotos a[uacute]n son amenaza, El Diario
de Hoy (El Sal.), Jan. 11, 2016; Contributions of the PDNA and DRF
to Post-Disaster Recovery: El Salvador Case Study 2022, United
Nations Development Programme, available at https://www.undp.org/latin-america/publications/case-study-contributions-pdna-and-drf-post-disaster (last visited: March 17, 2023).
\25\ El Salvador-Disaster Response, USAID, Sept. 7, 2022,
available at https://www.usaid.gov/el-salvador/our-work/disaster-response (last visited March 6, 2023); Miracle or Mirage? Gangs and
Plunging Violence in El Salvador, International Crisis Group, p.2,
July 8, 2020, available at https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/central-america/el-salvador/81-miracle-or-mirage-gangs-and-plunging-violence-el-salvador (last visited March 6,
2023); El Salvador: Civil War, Natural Disasters, and Gang Violence
Drive Migration, Migration Policy Institute, Aug. 29, 2018,
available at: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/el-salvador-civil-war-natural-disasters-and-gang-violence-drive-migration (last
visited: March 6, 2023).
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At the time of the determination to terminate the designation of
TPS, DHS found that the social and economic conditions affected by the
earthquakes had stabilized. That conclusion was in error and reflects
an inadequate assessment of conditions in El Salvador leading up to the
announcement of the decision to terminate. Although some social and
economic progress had been made by 2018, frequent and significant
environmental disasters occurred after the 2001 earthquakes causing
additional challenges.\26\ Recovery from the earthquakes continued to
be slow and encumbered by hurricanes and tropical storms, heavy rains
and flooding, volcanic and seismic activity, a coffee rust epidemic, a
prolonged and severe drought, and an increase in various mosquito-borne
diseases, among other things.
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\26\ Report: Extending Temporary Protected Status for El
Salvador: Country Conditions and U.S. Legal Requirements, American
University, Dec. 2017, available at: https://www.american.edu/centers/latin-american-latino-studies/extending-tps-for-el-salvador.cfm (last visited: March 6, 2023); Resolving Land Ownership
Issues for a Community Water Project: A Post-Earthquake Development
Dispute in Rural El Salvador, April 07, 2010, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14649350903538046 (last visited:
March 6, 2023).
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Numerous natural disasters have negatively affected El Salvador
since the 2001 earthquakes and have adversely impacted its ability to
adequately handle the return of its nationals granted TPS. In October
2005, for instance, the severe flooding caused by Tropical Storm Stan,
coupled with the eruption of the Ilamatepec volcano in early October
2005, affected approximately half of the population of El Salvador.\27\
In November 2009, Tropical Storm Ida caused severe damage and loss of
life.\28\ In October 2011, Tropical Storm 12-E caused flooding and
mudslides across El Salvador.\29\ In June 2013, Tropical Storm Barry
caused flooding.\30\ and the high waves produced by tropical storms in
May 2015 forced evacuations and caused damage along the Salvadoran
coastal line.\31\ In October 2015, heavy rains produced flooding and
landslides across El Salvador.\32\ In 2016, El Salvador had the third
highest percentage of people exposed to disaster risk in the world,
with 88.7 percent of the land and 95.4 percent of the population at
risk of multiple kinds of disasters.\33\ In June 2017, several days of
heavy rainfall caused floods and landslides; four people were killed,
nearly 300 were displaced, and over 200 homes were damaged.\34\ In
early October 2017, Tropical Storm Nate impacted El Salvador, leaving
one person dead and one missing.\35\ In late October 2017, Tropical
Storm Selma brought heavy rain and flooding that caused massive
mudslides, overflowed rivers, and left debris on roads.\36\
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\27\ El Salvador: Hurricane Stan, Floods and Volcanic Activity
OCHA Situation Report No. 2, UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, Oct. 7, 2005, available at https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/el-salvador-hurricane-stan-floods-and-volcanic-activity-ocha-situation-report-no (last visited March
6, 2023); Analysis of Tropical Storm Stan in El Salvador, Centro de
Intercambio y Solidaridad, Nov. 16, 2005, available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/analysis-tropical-storm-stan-el-salvador (last visited Mar. 6, 2023); El Salvador-Disaster Response,
USAID, Sept. 7, 2022, available at https://www.usaid.gov/el-salvador/our-work/disaster-response (last visited March 6, 2023).
\28\ Hurricane Ida and floods in Central America: OCHA Situation
Report No. 1, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, Nov. 9, 2009 available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/hurricane-ida-and-floods-central-america-ocha-situation-report-no-1-9-nov-2009 (last visited Mar. 6, 2003); El Salvador-
Disaster Response, USAID, Sept. 7, 2022, available at https://www.usaid.gov/el-salvador/our-work/disaster-response (last visited
March 6, 2023).
\29\ Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2014--El Salvador Country Report.
G[uuml]tersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2014, available at https://bti-project.org/fileadmin/api/content/en/downloads/reports/country_report_2014_SLV.pdf (last visited Mar. 7, 2023); El
Salvador-Disaster Response, USAID, Sept. 7, 2022, available at
https://www.usaid.gov/el-salvador/our-work/disaster-response (last
visited March 6, 2023).
\30\ Stewart, Stacy R., Tropical Storm Barry (AL022013), 17-20
June 2013, National Hurricane Center, Oct. 7, 2013, available at
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL022013_Barry.pdf (last visited
March 6, 2023).
\31\ El Salvador: Storm Surge Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA)
DREF Operation n[deg] MDRSV008, International Federation of Red
Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Situation Report, May 15,
2015, available at http://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/el-salvador-storm-surge-emergency-plan-action-epoa-dref-operation-n-mdrsv008 (last visited March 6, 2023).
\32\ Guinto, Joel, Typhoon Kills At Least 16 In Philippines,
Strands Thousands, Terra Daily, Oct. 19, 2015, available at http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Typhoon_kills_at_least_16_in_Philippines_strands_thousands_999.html
(last visited: March 6, 2023).
\33\ Signing of Japanese ODA Loan with El Salvador: Improving
the capacity to mitigate and manage disaster risk, and providing
speedy assistance for financing needs in the reconstruction stage,
Japan International Cooperation Agency, May 30, 2016, available at
https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/signing-japanese-oda-loan-el-salvador-improving-capacity-mitigate-and-manage (last visited:
March 6, 2023).
\34\ El Salvador--Floods (Direcci[oacute]n General de
Protecci[oacute]n Civil, SNET, Local Media) (ECHO Daily Flash of 20
June 2017), European Commission's Directorate-General for European
Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, June 20, 2017,
(last accessed March 6, 2023).
\35\ Nate Kills At Least 20 in Central America, Tracks Toward
US, VOA News, Oct. 6, 2017, available at https://www.voanews.com/a/nate-takes-aim-us-still-reeling-from-earlier-storms/4059008.html
(last accessed March 6, 2023).
\36\ Report: Extending Temporary Protected Status for El
Salvador: Country Conditions and U.S. Legal Requirements, American
University, Dec. 2017, available at: https://www.american.edu/centers/latin-american-latino-studies/extending-tps-for-el-salvador.cfm (last visited: March 6, 2023).
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These environmental disasters have had negative impacts on El
Salvador's economic stability that were not considered in the 2018
termination decision.\37\ The 2018 termination decision highlighted El
Salvador's steady unemployment rate of 7 percent from 2014-2016 but
failed to consider that it has the second slowest economic growth rate
in Central America, leading to an underemployment rate of 36.8 percent
in 2018.\38\ According to the 2017 Global Climate Risk Index, El
Salvador ranked as the 15th most affected country in the world by
extreme weather events from 1996 to 2015, the most recent year for
which data was available at the time the termination decision was
made.\39\ During this time, El Salvador averaged $282 million in
damages per year--equivalent to 0.7 percent of its GDP.\40\ In 2016, El
Salvador was considered the 17th highest country in the world in terms
of the impact of disasters on the gross domestic product.\41\ An
estimated
[[Page 40287]]
95.4 percent of its GDP is exposed to two or more natural hazards,
making it the country with the second highest economic multi-hazard
risk worldwide relative to its GDP.\42\ In fact, earthquakes have been
responsible for the greatest proportion of economic loss, with the 2001
earthquakes causing effects equivalent to 12 percent of El Salvador's
GDP.\43\ These facts highlight that El Salvador continued to face
serious environmental obstacles at the time of the decision to
terminate TPS.
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\37\ Contributions of the PDNA and DRF to Post-Disaster
Recovery: El Salvador Case Study 2022, United Nations Development
Programme, available at https://www.undp.org/latin-america/publications/case-study-contributions-pdna-and-drf-post-disaster
(last accessed March 6, 2023).
\38\ Fact Sheet Employment and Migration El Salvador 2021,
International Labour Organization, December 8, 2021, available at
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/_-americas/_-ro-lima/_-
sro-san_jose/documents/publication/wcms_831274.pdf (last accessed
March 6, 2023).
\39\ Kreft, S[ouml]nke, Eckstein, David and Melchior, Inga,
Global Climate Risk Index 2018, Germanwatch, p. 23, Nov. 2017.
\40\ Kreft, S[ouml]nke, Eckstein, David and Melchior, Inga,
Global Climate Risk Index 2018, Germanwatch, p. 23, Nov. 2017.
\41\ Signing of Japanese ODA Loan with El Salvador: Improving
the capacity to mitigate and manage disaster risk, and providing
speedy assistance for financing needs in the reconstruction stage,
Japan International Cooperation Agency, May 30, 2016, available at
https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/signing-japanese-oda-loan-el-salvador-improving-capacity-mitigate-and-manage (last visited:
March 6, 2023).
\42\ Contributions of the PDNA and DRF to Post-Disaster
Recovery: El Salvador Case Study 2022, United Nations Development
Programme, available at https://www.undp.org/latin-america/publications/case-study-contributions-pdna-and-drf-post-disaster
(last accessed March 6, 2023).
\43\ Contributions of the PDNA and DRF to Post-Disaster
Recovery: El Salvador Case Study 2022, United Nations Development
Programme, available at https://www.undp.org/latin-america/publications/case-study-contributions-pdna-and-drf-post-disaster
(last accessed March 6, 2023).
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In addition to the ongoing environmental and economic impacts from
the 2001 earthquakes, high levels of violence have continued to render
El Salvador unable to handle the return of those granted TPS. At the
time of the decision to terminate TPS, DHS found that the social and
economic conditions affected by the earthquakes had stabilized but did
not sufficiently consider the combined impacts of the earthquakes and
economic instability on rates of violence and general insecurity.\44\
El Salvador's recovery had been (and continues to be) encumbered by
staggering levels of violence--mainly related to gang activity and the
state's response--as well as pervasive and high levels of gender-based
violence. In 2018, El Salvador had one of the world's highest homicide
rates and its security forces were widely reported as either
ineffective or engaged in human rights violations and abuses, including
the extrajudicial executions of alleged gang members, sexual assaults,
and enforced disappearances.\45\ Violent gang activity is particularly
serious in El Salvador due to the country's economic and social
challenges.\46\ Young people are highly vulnerable to gang recruitment,
with a quarter of Salvadoran youth not engaged in education,
employment, or training.\47\ Violent nonstate actors impact the ability
of NGOs to operate by imposing restrictions in areas they control.\48\
DHS also found that, in 2018, El Salvador was accepting the returns of
its nationals who were removed for various reasons; however, it did not
adequately consider that some of those who returned became targets for
violent nonstate actors, leading to extortion, torture, and murder of
deportees.\49\
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\44\ Termination of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary
Protected Status, 83 FR 2654 (Jan. 18, 2018).
\45\ El Salvador Events of 2018, Human Rights Watch, available
at https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/el-salvador (last accessed March 6, 2023).
\46\ Cheatham, Amelia & Roy, Diana, Central America's Turbulent
Northern Triangle, Council on Foreign Relations, available at
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/central-americas-turbulent-northern-triangle (last accessed March 6, 2023).
\47\ Brand-Weiner, Ian, Reducing Violence in El Salvador: What
it Will Take, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,
available at https://oecd-development-matters.org/2018/01/17/reducing-violence-in-el-salvador-what-it-will-take/ (last accessed
March 6, 2023).
\48\ Disaster Risk Reduction in El Salvador, An Evaluation of
Non-Governmental Organizations' Role and Impact, Texas A&M
University, May 3, 2022, available at condevcenter.org/Portals/0/El%20Salvador%20Capstone%202022.pdf (last accessed March 6, 2023).
\49\ El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations, Congressional
Research Service, July 1, 2020, available at https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R43616.pdf (last accessed March 6, 2023).
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As explained above, at the time of the decision to terminate TPS,
El Salvador continued to experience ongoing environmental disasters,
economic instability, and high rates of violence, that were either
insufficiently considered or not considered in the termination
decision. The termination decision failed to adequately assess
conditions in El Salvador in 2018. Those conditions continued to
substantially disrupt living conditions and temporarily affected the
country's ability to adequately handle the return of its nationals
residing in the United States. The Secretary has concluded that
reconsideration and rescission of the termination of TPS is appropriate
and timely, particularly given that the 2018 termination decision has
not yet gone into effect due to the ongoing litigation and associated
court orders.
What authority does the Secretary have to extend the designation of El
Salvador for TPS?
As noted above, section 244(b) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b),
authorizes the Secretary, after consultation with appropriate agencies
of the U.S. Government, to designate a foreign state (or part thereof)
for TPS if the Secretary determines that certain country conditions
exist and instructs the Secretary to periodically review the country
conditions underpinning each designation and determine whether they
still exist, leading to either termination or extension of the TPS
designation. However, if the Secretary determines that the foreign
state no longer meets the conditions for TPS designation, the Secretary
must terminate the designation. See INA section 244(b)(3)(B), 8 U.S.C.
1254a(b)(3)(B). If the Secretary does not make a decision as to either
extension or termination, then INA section 244(b)(3)(C) requires the
automatic extension of the designation for six months (or 12 or 18
months in the Secretary's discretion).
Prior to the now-rescinded termination of the TPS designation for
El Salvador, the most recent extension of the designation was due to
end on March 9, 2018.\50\ In light of the Secretary's reconsideration
and rescission of the January 18, 2018 decision to terminate the TPS
designation for El Salvador, there is no longer any standing
secretarial determination that El Salvador ``no longer meets the
conditions for designation'' under INA section 244(b)(1). Accordingly,
pursuant to INA section 244(b)(3)(C), and in the absence of an
affirmative decision by any Secretary to extend the designation for 12
or 18 months rather than the automatic six months triggered by the
statue, the TPS designation for El Salvador shall have been extended in
consecutive increments of six months between the date when the last
designation extension was due to end on March 9, 2018, and the
effective date of the TPS extension announced in this notice on
September 10, 2023. Coupled with the existing Ramos order and
corresponding Federal Register notices continuing TPS and TPS-related
documentation for affected beneficiaries under the designation for El
Salvador, this means that all such individuals whose TPS has not been
finally withdrawn for individual ineligibility are deemed to have
retained TPS since March 9, 2018, and may re-register under procedures
announced in this Notice.
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\50\ See 81 FR 44645 (July 8, 2016).
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Why is the Secretary extending the TPS designation for El Salvador for
TPS for 18 months through March 9, 2025?
DHS has reviewed country conditions in El Salvador. Based on the
review, including input received from DOS and other U.S. Government
agencies, the Secretary has determined that an 18-month TPS extension
is warranted because the conditions supporting El Salvador's 2001
designation for TPS on the basis of environmental disaster remain.
As previously discussed, El Salvador was originally designated for
TPS in 2001 \51\ following two separate
[[Page 40288]]
earthquakes. Recovery from these earthquakes has been impeded by El
Salvador's ongoing environmental challenges, including its high
vulnerability to ``more frequent occurrences of floods, droughts, and
tropical storms, all of which disproportionally affect poor and
vulnerable populations.'' \52\ During the rainy season, which generally
runs from June to November, El Salvador is impacted by extreme weather,
which damages roads, property, and infrastructure; disrupts supplies,
services, and utilities; and even causes loss of life.\53\ Through the
present, El Salvador continues to experience compounding environmental
disasters, hindering recovery and rendering it unable to handle
adequately the return of its nationals.
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\51\ Designation of El Salvador Under Temporary Protected Status
Program, 66 FR 14214 (Mar. 9, 2001).
\52\ The World Bank in El Salvador, Overview, The World Bank,
Apr. 22, 2022, available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/elsalvador/overview (last visited March 6, 2023).
\53\ Foreign Travel Advice El Salvador, Gov.UK, Oct. 20, 2022,
available at https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/el-salvador/print (last visited March 6, 2023).
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As recently as October 2022, Tropical Storm Julia passed over El
Salvador, leaving extensive flooding and deadly mudslides due to
oversaturated ground from an active rainy season.\54\ El Salvador
declared a 15-day state of national emergency in response to Tropical
Storm Julia.\55\ Approximately 120 shelters were activated for 2,837
people, and at least 10 individuals died.\56\ Assessments indicated
that 180,000 people who were already facing acute food insecurity were
affected by heavy rains.\57\ A trend analysis of food insecurity and
disasters found that environmental degradation and natural disasters
led to increased insecurity, and both of these factors have
significantly impacted El Salvador since 2001.\58\
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\54\ Northern Central America: TS Julia and Rainy Season Flash
Update No. 01, United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Oct. 14, 2022, available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/guatemala/northern-central-america-ts-julia-and-rainy-season-flash-update-no-01-14-october-2022 (last visited
March 6, 2023).
\55\ Northern Central America: TS Julia and Rainy Season Flash
Update No. 01, United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Oct. 14, 2022, available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/guatemala/northern-central-america-ts-julia-and-rainy-season-flash-update-no-01-14-october-2022 (last visited
March 6, 2023).
\56\ El Salvador: Tropical Storm Julia--Emergency Plan of Action
(EPoA), DREF Operation No. MDRSV015, International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Situation Report, Oct. 26,
2022, available at https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/el-salvador-tropical-storm-julia-emergency-plan-action-epoa-dref-operation-no-mdrsv015 (last visited March 6, 2023).
\57\ Northern Central America: TS Julia and Rainy Season Flash
Update No. 01, United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Oct. 14, 2022, available at https://reliefweb.int/report/guatemala/northern-central-america-ts-julia-and-rainy-season-flash-update-no-01-14-october-2022 (last visited
March 6, 2023).
\58\ Restoring Food Security and Livelihoods for Vulnerable
Groups Affected by Recurrent Shocks in El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras and Nicaragua, UN World Food Programme, Oct. 7, 2013,
https://one.wfp.org/operations/current_operations/project_docs/200490.pdf (last visited: March 6, 2023).
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In October 2018, the Government of El Salvador published an updated
report regarding the heavy rain situation in the country at that time.
Seven rivers flooded and 1,409 homes were affected.\59\ In May and June
2020, tropical storms Amanda and Crist[oacute]bal causing widespread
floods and landslides throughout the country, causing loss of life and
significant material damage.\60\ Collectively, the storms also
disrupted agricultural production, and caused acute food insecurity due
to irregular rainfall, which was worsened by the impacts of the COVID-
19 pandemic.\61\ More than 149,000 people were directly affected the
storms, and as a result, the WFP estimated that more than 330,000
people were facing severe food insecurity.\62\ In November 2020, the
Civil Protection Agency in El Salvador issued a national red alert due
to the formation of Hurricane Eta, which sent more than 2,200 people to
shelters.\63\ As a result of Hurricane Eta, El Salvador experienced
major flooding and soon after, experienced heavy rain and flooding from
Hurricane Iota.\64\ It also caused two deaths and significant
agricultural damage across the country.\65\ It is estimated that 17,000
people were internally displaced as a result of Hurricanes Eta and
Iota.\66\ These countrywide consecutive events led to an overwhelming
increase in the number of identified people in need of humanitarian
assistance from 643,000 before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to
1.7 million.\67\
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\59\ Natural Disasters Monitoring, News and Press Release Pan-
American Health Organization (PAHO), Oct. 10, 2018, available at
https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/natural-disasters-monitoring-october-10-2018 (last visited March 6, 2023).
\60\ Durroux-Malpartida, Veronique, As El Salvador faces the
double impact of hurricanes and COVID-19, NGOs step in, United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(UNOCHA), Dec. 30, 2020, available at https://www.unocha.org/story/el-salvador-faces-double-impact-hurricanes-and-covid-19-ngos-step
(last visited March 6, 2023).
\61\ El Salvador-Disaster Response, USAID, Sept. 7, 2022,
available at: https://www.usaid.gov/el-salvador/our-work/disaster-response (last visited March 6, 2023).
\62\ Durroux-Malpartida, Veronique, As El Salvador faces the
double impact of hurricanes and COVID-19, NGOs step in, United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(UNOCHA), Dec. 30, 2020, available at https://www.unocha.org/story/el-salvador-faces-double-impact-hurricanes-and-covid-19-ngos-step
(last visited March 6, 2023).
\63\ Durroux-Malpartida, Veronique, As El Salvador faces the
double impact of hurricanes and COVID-19, NGOs step in, United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(UNOCHA), Dec. 30, 2020, available at https://www.unocha.org/story/el-salvador-faces-double-impact-hurricanes-and-covid-19-ngos-step
(last visited March 6, 2023).
\64\ National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report:
Hurricane Eta, NHC, Nov. 2020, https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL292020_Eta.pdf (last visited: Feb. 24, 2023); National Hurricane
Center Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Iota, NHC, Nov. 2020,
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL312020_Iota.pdf (last visited:
March 6, 2023).
\65\ Id.
\66\ US Department of State, 2021 Country Report on Human Rights
Practices: El Salvador, April 12, 2022, https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2071137.html (accessed on March 6, 2023).
\67\ Durroux-Malpartida, Veronique, As El Salvador faces the
double impact of hurricanes and COVID-19, NGOs step in, United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(UNOCHA), Dec. 30, 2020, available at https://www.unocha.org/story/el-salvador-faces-double-impact-hurricanes-and-covid-19-ngos-step
(last visited March 6, 2023).
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In addition to the numerous environmental disasters following the
2001 earthquakes, El Salvador continues to experience a frail
macroeconomic environment, a high rate of unemployment, violence, and a
poor security situation that continues to render the country
temporarily unable to adequately handle the return of its nationals. El
Salvador is plagued by intense violence involving criminal groups and
gang warfare, as well as a deteriorating political crisis, due to the
government's aggressive security strategies to combat gang violence. As
reported in July 2020 by the International Crisis Group (ICG), El
Salvador continues to be exposed to violence involving criminal groups,
particularly Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street gang's two
factions, the Revolutionaries and the Southerners.\68\ At that time,
authorities estimated that 60,000 active gang members operated in 94
percent of the country's municipalities.\69\ Gang violence has hampered
reconstruction efforts, with NGOs reporting that in gang-controlled
territories, they must abide by curfews, stop work when ordered, and
often require approval from gangs to work in those areas.\70\
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\68\ Miracle or Mirage? Gangs and Plunging Violence in El
Salvador, International Crisis Group, p.2, July 8, 2020, available
at https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/central-america/el-salvador/81-miracle-or-mirage-gangs-and-plunging-violence-el-salvador (last visited March 6, 2023).
\69\ Miracle or Mirage? Gangs and Plunging Violence in El
Salvador, International Crisis Group, p.2, July 8, 2020, available
at https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/central-america/el-salvador/81-miracle-or-mirage-gangs-and-plunging-violence-el-salvador (last visited March 6, 2023).
\70\ Disaster Risk Reduction in El Salvador, An Evaluation of
Non-Governmental Organizations' Role and Impact, Texas A&M
University, May 3, 2022, available at condevcenter.org/Portals/0/El%20Salvador%20Capstone%202022.pdf (last accessed March 6, 2023).
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[[Page 40289]]
Elected in 2019, President Nayib Bukele has attributed a plunge in
homicides to a security policy of sending police and troops into gang-
controlled neighborhoods.\71\ However, El Salvador's overall decline in
its homicide rate in 2020 and 2021 \72\ has also been attributed to a
``covert pact'' between the government and the largest gangs operating
in the country--the collapse of which reportedly led to a spike in
murders in late March 2022.\73\
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\71\ Treasury Targets Corruption Networks Linked to
Transnational Organized Crime, Press Release, U.S. Treasury, Dec. 8,
2021, available at https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0519 (last visited March 6, 2023). After experiencing a spike in
homicides in 2015, El Salvador went from Latin America's most
violent country to number 11 in 2021. See United States Institute of
Peace, ``El Salvador Needs Long-Term Solutions to End Cycles of
Violence,'' Apr. 6, 2022, available at https://www.usip.org/
publications/2022/04/el-salvador-needs-long-term-solutions-end-
cycles-
violence#:~:text=From%20Latin%20America's%20most%20violent,Mexico%20(
26%20per%20100%2C000 (last visited March 6, 2023).
\72\ InSight Crime's 2021 Homicide Round-Up, InSight Crime, Feb.
1, 2022, available at https://insightcrime.org/news/insight-crimes-2021-homicide-round-up/ (last visited on March 6, 2023).
\73\ Mart[iacute]nez, Carlos, Collapsed Government Talks with
MS-13 Sparked Record Homicides in El Salvador, Audios Reveal, El
Faro (El Sal.), May 17, 2022, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/world/americas/el-salvador-bukele-gangs.html (last
visited March 6, 2023).
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President Bukele has been described as ``increasingly
authoritarian, and his critics say the leader's threat to democracy has
only grown.'' \74\ In a December 2021 report, the Congressional
Research Service described a series of actions taken by President
Bukele and his government as ``democratic backsliding'' \75\ and
``removing checks on presidential power.'' \76\ In March 2022, the
government of El Salvador declared a 30-day state of emergency,
suspending citizen's constitutional rights, in response to a spike in
homicides, when El Salvador registered 62 murders in a single day,
``the bloodiest since the end of the country's civil war in 1992.''
\77\ This initial month-long crackdown on gangs has been regularly
renewed since then, with the latest renewal announced in March
2023.\78\ As of March 2023, more than 65,000 people had been arrested
under these orders, and human rights groups claim that many of the of
the mass detentions could amount to arbitrary detentions based on
``poorly substantiated investigations or crude profiling of the
physical appearance or social background of those detained.'' \79\
Human Rights Watch reported that the government's emergency provisions
suspended privacy rights, freedom of association and peaceful assembly,
and some fair trial guarantees and other applicable legal
protections.\80\ Amnesty International has documented that authorities
in El Salvador have dismantled judicial independence and committed
torture and thousands of arbitrary detentions and violations of fair
trial guarantees and other applicable legal protections.\81\
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\74\ El Salvador's Nayib Bukele: Strong and Getting Stronger,
America's Quarterly, Feb. 23, 2021, available at https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/aq-podcast-el-salvadors-nayib-bukele-strong-and-getting-stronger/ (last visited March 6, 2023).
\75\ El Salvador: Authoritarian Actions and U.S. Response,
Congressional Research Service, p.1, Dec. 23, 2021, available at
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN11658 (last visited
March 6, 2023).
\76\ El Salvador: Authoritarian Actions and U.S. Response,
Congressional Research Service, p.2, Dec. 23, 2021, available at
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN11658 (last visited
March 6, 2023).
\77\ Renteria, Nelson, In El Salvador's gang crackdown, quotas
drive `arbitrary' arrests of innocents, Reuters, May 16, 2022,
(last visited March 6, 2023).
\78\ El Salvador urged to uphold human rights amid state of
emergency, United Nations News, Mar. 28, 2023, available at https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/03/1135097 (last visited March 30, 2023).
\79\ El Salvador urged to uphold human rights amid state of
emergency, United Nations News, Mar. 28, 2023, available at https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/03/1135097 (last visited March 30, 2023);
How is a `state of exception' changing El Salvador?, Al Jazeera,
June 7, 2022, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-stream/2022/6/7/what-is-the-true-impact-of-el-salvadors-state-of
(last visited March 6, 2023).
\80\ El Salvador: Evidence of Serious Abuse in State of
Emergency, Human Rights Watch, May 2, 2022, available at https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/02/el-salvador-evidence-serious-abuse-state-emergency (last visited March 6, 2023).
\81\ Tucker, Duncan, Eviscerating Human Rights Is Not The Answer
To El Salvador's Gang Problem, Amnesty International, Aug. 31, 2022,
available at https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/08/eviscerating-human-rights-el-salvador-gang-problem/ (last visited
March 6, 2023).
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Since March 2022, police and soldiers have been conducting raids
and arresting thousands at their home and in the street.\82\ The number
of arrests under the state of emergency increased to 50,000 as of mid-
August 2022.\83\ Official statistics and other government information
has become increasingly difficult to access under the state of
emergency, and authorities reportedly have changed ``what counts as a
homicide.'' \84\ The discrepancy between reported homicide numbers and
the actual numbers of bodies reportedly recovered from mass graves
continues to be of concern.\85\ Under President Bukele, significant
human rights abuses and violations by security forces are widely
reported to continue, including unlawful disappearances, torture, and
extrajudicial killings of suspected gang members.\86\
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\82\ El Salvador: Evidence of Serious Abuse in State of
Emergency, Human Rights Watch, May 2, 2022, available at https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/02/el-salvador-evidence-serious-abuse-state-emergency (last visited March 6, 2023).
\83\ El Salvador extends state of exception as arrests hit
50,000, Al Jazeera, Aug. 17, 2022, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/17/el-salvador-extends-state-of-exception-as-arrests-hit-50000 (last visited March 6, 2023).
\84\ Renteria, Nelson, In El Salvador, discrepancy over deaths
and mass graves alarms critics, Reuters, Aug. 3, 2022, available at
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-discrepancy-over-deaths-mass-graves-alarms-critics-2022-08-03/ (last visited March 6,
2023).
\85\ Renteria, Nelson, In El Salvador, discrepancy over deaths
and mass graves alarms critics, Reuters, Aug. 3, 2022, available at
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-discrepancy-over-deaths-mass-graves-alarms-critics-2022-08-03/ (last visited March 6,
2023).
\86\ US Department of State, 2021 Country Report on Human Rights
Practices: El Salvador, April 12, 2022, https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2071137.html (last visited March 6, 2023).
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The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) noted in a 2018
report that ``[d]isplacement caused by crime and violence has, by any
measure, risen to the level of a humanitarian crisis in El Salvador.''
\87\ In July 2018, internal forced displacement was officially
recognized by the Supreme Court of El Salvador.\88\ In January 2020,
the Legislative Assembly approved the ``Special Law for the
Comprehensive Care and Protection of People in a situation of Forced
Internal Displacement,'' a fundamental instrument to provide care,
protection, and lasting solutions to people internally displaced due to
violence from organized crime and criminal gangs, as well as those who
may be at risk of displacement.\89\ In August 2021, the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that communities in El
Salvador are severely affected by gang violence, extortion, death
threats, and sexual violence, as
[[Page 40290]]
well as other serious human rights violations.\90\
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\87\ Knox, Vickie, An Atomised Crisis: Reframing displacement
caused by crime and violence in El Salvador, Internal Displacement
Monitoring Centre (IDMC), p.6, Sept. 2018, available at https://www.internal-displacement.org/sites/default/files/publications/documents/201809-el-salvador-an-atomised-crisis-en.pdf (last visited
March 6, 2023).
\88\ Fact Sheet > El Salvador, United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR), p.2, Aug. 2021, available at https://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/El%20Salvador%20Factsheet%20August%202021.pdf (last visited March 6,
2023).
\89\ Fact Sheet > El Salvador, United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR), p.2, Aug. 2021, available at https://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/El%20Salvador%20Factsheet%20August%202021.pdf (last visited March 6,
2023).
\90\ Fact Sheet > El Salvador, United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR), p.1, Aug. 2021, available at https://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/El%20Salvador%20Factsheet%20August%202021.pdf (last visited March 6,
2023).
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Gang violence and lack of access to effective protection has forced
tens of thousands to flee internally since 2006.\91\ Violence and lack
of opportunities have forced people to leave their homes in search of
protection, access to basic services and livelihood opportunities.
COVID-19 has exacerbated the needs of internally displaced persons and
those at risk of displacement by impacting their access to protection
and livelihoods.\92\ While President Bukele's tactics have caused a
decrease in the rate of gang violence, severe gang violence persists,
and the tactics used by the Bukele administration have failed to
address the root causes of gang membership, including poverty and
insecurity, which are exacerbated by the lingering effects of major
environmental disasters. Impoverished individuals are less likely to
move to safer areas due to lack of financial resources and the
geographic areas where they can afford to live are more likely to be
gang-impacted and environmentally degraded.\93\
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\91\ Fact Sheet > El Salvador, United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR), p.2, Aug. 2021, available at https://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/El%20Salvador%20Factsheet%20August%202021.pdf (last visited March 6,
2023).
\92\ Fact Sheet > El Salvador, United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR), p.1, Aug. 2021, available at https://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/El%20Salvador%20Factsheet%20August%202021.pdf (last visited March 6,
2023).
\93\ Disaster risk reduction in El Salvador, Texas A&M
University, May 3, 2022, condevcenter.org/Portals/0/El%20Salvador%20Capstone%202022.pdf (last visited: March 6, 2023).
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In summary, while progress has been made in repairing damage caused
by the 2001 earthquakes, El Salvador continues to experience numerous
natural disasters that significantly disrupt living conditions and
adversely impact its ability to adequately handle the return of those
granted TPS. A weak macroeconomic environment, a high rate of
unemployment, violence, and a poor security situation adversely impact
the country's ability to fully recover and continue to render the
country temporarily unable to adequately handle the return of its
nationals.
Based upon this review and after consultation with appropriate U.S.
Government agencies, the Secretary has determined that:
At the time the Secretary's decision to terminate El
Salvador's designation for TPS was announced on January 18, 2018,
conditions in El Salvador continued to support the country's
designation for TPS on the ground of environmental disaster; therefore,
the termination should be rescinded and such rescission is timely given
that the termination has not yet gone into effect. See INA section
244(b)(1)(B), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1)(B).
The conditions supporting El Salvador's designation for
TPS still continue to be met. See INA section 244(b)(3)(A) and (C), 8
U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(A) and (C).
There has been an earthquake, flood, drought, epidemic, or
other environmental disaster in El Salvador resulting in a substantial,
but temporary, disruption of living conditions in the area affected; El
Salvador is unable, temporarily, to handle adequately the return of its
nationals; and El Salvador officially requested designation of TPS. See
INA section 244(b)(1)(B), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1)(B);
The designation of El Salvador for TPS should be extended
for an 18-month period, beginning on September 10, 2023 and ending on
March 9, 2025. See INA section 244(b)(3)(C), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(C).
Notice of the Rescission of TPS Termination and Extension of the TPS
Designation of El Salvador
Pursuant to my lawful authorities, including under sections 103(a)
and 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, I am hereby rescinding
the termination of the TPS designation of El Salvador announced in the
Federal Register at 83 FR 2654 on January 18, 2018. Due to this
rescission and pursuant to INA section 244(b)(3)(C), as well as the
ongoing preliminary injunction in Ramos v. Nielsen, 336 F. Supp. 3d
1075 (N.D. Cal. 2018), the TPS designation of El Salvador has continued
to automatically extend under the statute since July 8, 2016, without a
standing secretarial determination as to whether TPS should be extended
or terminated. TPS beneficiaries under the designation, whose TPS has
not been finally withdrawn for individual ineligibility, therefore have
continued to maintain their TPS since March 9, 2018.
By the authority vested in me as Secretary under INA section 244, 8
U.S.C. 1254a, I have determined, after consultation with the
appropriate U.S. Government agencies, the statutory conditions
supporting El Salvador's designation for TPS on the basis of
environmental disaster continue to be met. See INA sections
244(b)(1)(B) and 244(b)(3)(A); 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(1)(B) and
1254a(b)(3)(A). On the basis of this determination, I am extending the
existing designation of El Salvador for TPS for 18 months, beginning on
September 10, 2023 and ending on March 9, 2025. See INA section
244(b)(3)(C), 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(C). Individuals holding TPS under
the designation of El Salvador may file to reregister for TPS under the
procedures announced in this notice if they wish to continue their TPS
under this 18-month extension.
Alejandro N. Mayorkas,
Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Eligibility and Employment Authorization for TPS
Required Application Forms and Application Fees To Re-Register for TPS
To re-register for TPS based on the designation of El Salvador, you
must submit a Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status
during the 60-day reregistration period that starts on July 12, 2023
and ends on September 10, 2023. There is no Form I-821 fee for re-
registration. See 8 CFR 244.17. You may be required to pay the
biometric services fee. If you can demonstrate an inability to pay the
biometric services fee, you may request to have the fee waived. Please
see additional information under the ``Biometric Services Fee'' section
of this notice.
Individuals who have an El Salvador TPS application (Form I-821)
that was still pending as of June 21, 2023 do not need to file the
application again. If USCIS approves an individual's Form I-821, USCIS
will grant the individual TPS through March 9, 2025.
Required Application Forms and Application Fees To Obtain an EAD
Every employee must provide their employer with documentation
showing they have a legal right to work in the United States. TPS
beneficiaries are authorized to work in the United States and are
eligible for an EAD which proves their employment authorization. If you
have an existing EAD issued under the TPS designation of El Salvador
that has been auto-extended through June 30, 2024 by the notice
published at 87 FR 68717, you may continue to use that EAD through that
date. If you want to obtain a new EAD valid through March 9, 2025, you
must file an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) and
pay the Form I-765 fee (or request a fee waiver, which you may submit
on Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver).
You may, but are not required to, submit Form I-765, Application
for
[[Page 40291]]
Employment Authorization, with your Form I-821 re-registration
application. If you do not want a new EAD now, you can request one
later by filing your I-765 and paying the fee (or requesting a fee
waiver) at that time, provided you have TPS or a pending TPS
application. If you have TPS and only a pending Form I-765, you must
file the Form I-821 to reregister for TPS or risk having your TPS
withdrawn for failure to reregister without good cause.
Information About Fees and Filing
USCIS offers the option to applicants for TPS under El Salvador's
designation to file Form I-821 and related requests for EADs online or
by mail. When filing a TPS application, applicants can also request an
EAD by submitting a completed Form I-765, with their Form I-821.
Online filing: Form I-821 and I-765 are available for concurrent
filing online.\94\ To file these forms online, you must first create a
USCIS online account.\95\ However, if you are requesting a fee waiver,
you cannot submit the applications online. You will need to file paper
versions of the fee waiver request and the form for which you are
requesting the fee waiver.
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\94\ Find information about online filing at ``Forms Available
to File Online,'' https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/forms-available-to-file-online.
\95\ https://myaccount.uscis.gov/users/sign_up.
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Mail filing: Mail your application for TPS to the proper address in
Table 1.
Table 1--Mailing Addresses: Mail your completed Form I-821,
Application for Temporary Protected Status and Form I-765, Application
for Employment Authorization, Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, if
applicable, and supporting documentation to the proper address in Table
1.
Table 1--Mailing Addresses
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then mail your application to:
If you live in:
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Texas.......................... USCIS Dallas Lockbox.
U.S. Postal Service (USPS):
USCIS, Attn: TPS El Salvador,
P.O. Box 660864, Dallas, TX
75266-0864.
FedEx, UPS, or DHL: USCIS,
Attn: TPS El Salvador (Box
660864), 2501 S State Highway
121 Business, Suite 400,
Lewisville, TX 75067-8003.
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American Samoa................. USCIS Chicago Lockbox.
Arizona........................ U.S. Postal Service (USCIS):
California..................... USPS, Attn: TPS El Salvador,
Connecticut.................... P.O. Box 8635, Chicago, IL
Delaware....................... 60680-8635.
District of Columbia........... FedEx, UPS, or DHL: USCIS,
Georgia........................ Attn: TPS El Salvador (Box
Guam........................... 8635), 131 S. Dearborn St.,
3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60603-
5517.
Illinois.
Indiana.
Kentucky.
Maine.
Massachusetts.
Michigan.
Nevada.
New Hampshire.
New Jersey.
North Carolina.
Northern Mariana Islands.
Ohio.
Oregon.
Pennsylvania.
Puerto Rico.
Rhode Island.
South Carolina.
Vermont.
Virgin Islands.
Virginia.
Washington.
West Virginia.
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Alabama........................ USCIS Elgin Lockbox.
Alaska. U.S. Postal Service (USPS):
Arkansas. USCIS, Attn: TPS El Salvador,
Colorado. P.O. Box 4091, Carol Stream,
Florida. IL 60197-4091.
Hawaii. FedEx, UPS, or DHL: USCIS,
Idaho. Attn: TPS El Salvador (Box
Iowa. 4091), 2500 Westfield Drive,
Elgin, IL 60124-7836.
Kansas.
Louisiana.
Maryland.
Minnesota.
Mississippi.
Missouri.
[[Page 40292]]
Montana.
Nebraska.
New Mexico.
New York.
North Dakota.
Oklahoma.
South Dakota.
Tennessee.
Utah.
Wisconsin.
Wyoming.
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If you were granted TPS by an immigration judge (IJ) or the Board
of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and you wish to request an EAD, please
mail your Form I-765 application to the appropriate mailing address in
Table 1. When you are requesting an EAD based on an IJ/BIA grant of
TPS, please include a copy of the IJ or BIA order granting you TPS with
your application. This will help us verify your grant of TPS and
process your application.
Supporting Documents
The filing instructions on the Form I-821 list all the documents
needed to establish eligibility for TPS. You may also find information
on the acceptable documentation and other requirements for applying
(i.e., registering) for TPS on the USCIS website at https://www.uscis.gov/tps under ``El Salvador.''
Travel
TPS beneficiaries may also apply for and be granted travel
authorization as a matter of discretion. You must file for travel
authorization if you wish to travel outside of the United States. If
granted, travel authorization gives you permission to leave the United
States and return during a specific period. To request travel
authorization, you must file Form I-131, Application for Travel
Document, available at https://www.uscis.gov/i-131. You may file Form
I-131 together with your Form I-821 or separately. When filing the Form
I-131, you must:
Select Item Number 1.d. in Part 2 on the Form I-131; and
Submit the fee for the Form I-131, or request a fee
waiver, which you may submit on Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver.
If you are filing Form I-131 together with Form I-821, send your
forms to the address listed in Table 1. If you are filing Form I-131
separately based on a pending or approved Form I-821, send your form to
the address listed in Table 2 and include a copy of Form I-797 for the
approved or pending Form I-821.
Table 2--Mailing Addresses
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are . . . Mail to . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filing Form I-131 together with a Form I- The address provided in
821, Application for Temporary Protected Table 1.
Status
Filing Form I-131 based on a pending or USCIS, Attn: I-131 TPS, P.O.
approved Form I-821, and you are using Box 660167, Dallas, TX
the U.S. Postal Service (USPS): 75266-0867.
You must include a copy of the receipt
notice (Form I-797 or I-797C) showing
we accepted or approved your Form I-
821.
Filing Form I-131 based on a pending or USCIS, Attn: I-131 TPS, 2501
approved Form I-821, and you are using S State Hwy. 121, Business
FedEx, UPS, or DHL: Ste. 400, Lewisville, TX
75067.
You must include a copy of the receipt
notice (Form I-797 or I-797C) showing
we accepted or approved your Form I-
821.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biometric Services Fee for TPS
Biometrics (such as fingerprints) are required for all applicants
14 years of age and older. Those applicants must submit a biometric
services fee. As previously stated, if you are unable to pay the
biometric services fee, you may request a fee waiver, which you may
submit on Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver. For more information on
the application forms and fees for TPS, please visit the USCIS TPS web
page at https://www.uscis.gov/tps. Fees for Form I-765 and biometric
services are also described in 8 CFR 103.7(b)(1) (Oct. 1, 2020). If
necessary, you may be required to visit an Application Support Center
to have your biometrics captured. For additional information on the
USCIS biometric screening process, please see the USCIS Customer
Profile Management Service Privacy Impact Assessment, available at
https://www.dhs.gov/publication/dhsuscispia-060-customer-profile-management-service-cpms.
Refiling a TPS Re-Registration Application After Receiving a Denial of
a Fee Waiver Request
You should file as soon as possible within the 60-day re-
registration period so USCIS can process your application and issue
your EAD promptly, if one has been requested. Properly filing early
will also allow you to have time to refile your application before the
deadline, should USCIS deny your fee waiver request. The fee waiver
denial notice will contain specific instructions about resubmitting
your application. However, you are urged to refile within 45 days of
the date on any USCIS fee waiver denial notice, if possible. See INA
section 244(c)(3)(C); 8 U.S.C. 1254a(c)(3)(C); 8 CFR 244.17(b). For
more information on good cause for late re-registration, visit the
USCIS TPS web page at www.uscis.gov/tps.
Note: A re-registering TPS beneficiary age 14 and older must
pay the biometric services fee (but not the Form I-821 fee), or
request a fee waiver, when filing a TPS re-registration application.
As discussed above, if you decide to wait to request an EAD, you do
not have to file the Form I-765 or pay the
[[Page 40293]]
associated Form I-765 fee (or request a fee waiver) at the time of
re-registration. You may wait to seek an EAD until after USCIS has
approved your TPS re-registration application or at any later date
you decide you want to request an EAD. To re-register for TPS, you
only need to file the Form I-821 with the biometrics services fee,
if applicable (or request a fee waiver).
General Employment-Related Information for TPS Applicants and Their
Employers
How can I obtain information on the status of my TPS application and
EAD request?
To get case status information about your TPS application, as well
as the status of your TPS-based EAD request, you can check Case Status
Online at uscis.gov, or visit the USCIS Contact Center at https://www.uscis.gov/contactcenter. If your Form I-765 has been pending for
more than 90 days, and you still need assistance, you may ask a
question about your case online at https://egov.uscis.gov/e-request/Intro.do or call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-
1833).
When hired, what documentation may I show to my employer as evidence of
identity and employment authorization when completing Form I-9?
You can find the Lists of Acceptable Documents on Form I-9,
Employment Eligibility Verification, as well as the Acceptable
Documents web page at https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/acceptable-documents. Employers must complete Form I-9 to verify the identity and
employment authorization of all new employees. Within three days of
hire, employees must present acceptable documents to their employers as
evidence of identity and employment authorization to satisfy Form I-9
requirements.
You may present any document from List A (which provides evidence
of both identity and employment authorization) or one document from
List B (which provides evidence of your identity) together with one
document from List C (which provides evidence of employment
authorization), or you may present an acceptable receipt as described
in the Form I-9 Instructions. Employers may not reject a document based
on a future expiration date. You can find additional information about
Form I-9 on the I-9 Central web page at https://www.uscis.gov/I-9Central. An EAD is an acceptable document under List A.
If I have an EAD based on another immigration status, can I obtain a
new TPS-based EAD?
Yes, if you are eligible for TPS, you can obtain a new TPS-based
EAD, regardless of whether you have an EAD or work authorization based
on another immigration status. If you want to obtain a new TPS-based
EAD valid through March 9, 2025, then you must file Form I-765,
Application for Employment Authorization, and pay the associated fee
(unless USCIS grants your fee waiver request).
Can my employer require that I provide any other documentation such as
evidence of my status or proof of my Salvadoran citizenship or a Form
I-797C showing that I registered for TPS for Form I-9 completion?
No. When completing Form I-9, employers must accept any
documentation you choose to present from the Form I-9 Lists of
Acceptable Documents that reasonably appears to be genuine and that
relates to you, or an acceptable List A, List B, or List C receipt.
Employers need not reverify List B identity documents. Employers may
not request proof of Salvadoran citizenship or proof of registration
for TPS when completing Form I-9 for new hires or reverifying the
employment authorization of current employees. Refer to the ``Note to
Employees'' section of this Federal Register notice for important
information about your rights if your employer rejects lawful
documentation, requires additional documentation, or otherwise
discriminates against you based on your citizenship or immigration
status, or your national origin. Employers can refer to the compliance
notice that DHS published on November 16, 2022, for information on how
to complete the Form I-9 with TPS EADs that DHS extended through June
30, 2024.\96\
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\96\ Continuation of Documentation for Beneficiaries of
Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Haiti,
Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal, 87 FR 68717 (Nov. 16, 2022).
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Note to All Employers
Employers are reminded that the laws requiring proper employment
eligibility verification and prohibiting unfair immigration-related
employment practices remain in full force. This Federal Register notice
does not supersede or in any way limit applicable employment
verification rules and policy guidance, including those rules setting
forth reverification requirements. For general questions about the
employment eligibility verification process, employers may call USCIS
at 888-464-4218 (TTY 877-875-6028) or email USCIS at I-9Central@uscis.dhs.gov. USCIS accepts calls and emails in English and
many other languages. For questions about avoiding discrimination
during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-
Verify), employers may call the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil
Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) Employer
Hotline at 800-255-8155 (TTY 800-237-2515). IER offers language
interpretation in numerous languages. Employers may also email IER at
Note to Employees
For general questions about the employment eligibility verification
process, employees may call USCIS at 888-897-7781 (TTY 877-875-6028) or
email USCIS at I-9Central@uscis.dhs.gov. USCIS accepts calls in
English, Spanish and many other languages. Employees or job applicants
may also call the IER Worker Hotline at 800-255-7688 (TTY 800-237-2515)
for information regarding employment discrimination based on
citizenship, immigration status, or national origin, including
discrimination related to Form I-9 and E-Verify. The IER Worker Hotline
provides language interpretation in numerous languages.
To comply with the law, employers must accept any document or
combination of documents from the Lists of Acceptable Documents if the
documentation reasonably appears to be genuine and to relate to the
employee, or an acceptable List A, List B, or List C receipt as
described in the Form I-9 Instructions. Employers may not require extra
or additional documentation beyond what is required for Form I-9
completion. Further, employers participating in E-Verify who receive an
E-Verify case result of ``Tentative Nonconfirmation'' (mismatch) must
promptly inform employees of the mismatch and give such employees an
opportunity to take action to resolve the mismatch. A mismatch result
means that the information entered into E-Verify from Form I-9 differs
from records available to DHS.
Employers may not terminate, suspend, delay training, withhold or
lower pay, or take any adverse action against an employee because of a
mismatch while the case is still pending with E-Verify. A Final
Nonconfirmation (FNC) case result is received when E-Verify cannot
confirm an employee's employment eligibility. An employer may terminate
employment based on a case result of FNC. Work-authorized employees who
receive an FNC may call
[[Page 40294]]
USCIS for assistance at 888-897-7781 (TTY 877-875-6028). For more
information about E-Verify-related discrimination or to report an
employer for discrimination in the E-Verify process based on
citizenship, immigration status, or national origin, contact IER's
Worker Hotline at 800-255-7688 (TTY 800-237-2515). Additional
information about proper nondiscriminatory Form I-9 and E-Verify
procedures is available on the IER website at https://www.justice.gov/crt/immigrant-and-employee-rights-section and the USCIS and E-Verify
websites at https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central and https://www.e-verify.gov.
Note Regarding Federal, State, and Local Government Agencies (Such as
Departments of Motor Vehicles)
This Federal Register Notice does not invalidate the compliance
notice DHS issued on November 16, 2022, which extended the validity of
certain TPS documentation through June 30, 2024 and does not require
individuals to present a Form I-797, Notice of Action. While Federal
Government agencies must follow the guidelines laid out by the Federal
Government, State and local government agencies establish their own
rules and guidelines when granting certain benefits. Each state may
have different laws, requirements, and determinations about what
documents you need to provide to prove eligibility for certain
benefits. Whether you are applying for a Federal, State, or local
government benefit, you may need to provide the government agency with
documents that show you are a TPS beneficiary, show you are authorized
to work based on TPS or other status, or that may be used by DHS to
determine if you have TPS or another immigration status. Examples of
such documents are:
Your current EAD with a TPS category code of A-12 or C-19,
even if your country of birth noted on the EAD does not reflect the TPS
designated country of El Salvador; or
Your Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record or Form I-797,
Notice of Action, as shown in the Federal Register notice published at
87 FR 68717.
Check with the government agency requesting documentation regarding
which document(s) the agency will accept. Some state and local
government agencies use SAVE to confirm the current immigration status
of applicants for public benefits.
While SAVE can verify that an individual has TPS, each state and
local government agency's procedures govern whether they will accept an
unexpired EAD, Form I-797, Form I-797C, or Form I-94. It may also
assist the agency if you:
- Give the agency a copy of the relevant Federal Register notice
listing the TPS-related document, including any applicable auto-
extension of the document, in addition to your recent TPS-related
document with your A-number, USCIS number or Form I-94 number;
- Explain that SAVE will be able to verify the continuation of
your TPS using this information; and
- Ask the agency to initiate a SAVE query with your information
and follow through with additional verification steps, if necessary, to
get a final SAVE response verifying your TPS.
You can also ask the agency to look for SAVE notices or contact
SAVE if they have any questions about your immigration status or any
automatic extension of TPS-related documentation. In most cases, SAVE
provides an automated electronic response to benefit-granting agencies
within seconds, but occasionally verification can be delayed.
You can check the status of your SAVE verification by using
CaseCheck at https://save.uscis.gov/casecheck/. CaseCheck is a free
service that lets you follow the progress of your SAVE verification
case using your date of birth and one immigration identifier number (A-
number, USCIS number, or Form I-94 number) or Verification Case Number.
If an agency has denied your application based solely or in part on a
SAVE response, the agency must offer you the opportunity to appeal the
decision in accordance with the agency's procedures. If the agency has
received and acted on or will act on a SAVE verification and you do not
believe the SAVE response is correct, the SAVE website, www.uscis.gov/save, has detailed information on how to correct or update your
immigration record, make an appointment, or submit a written request to
correct records.
[FR Doc. 2023-13018 Filed 6-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-97-P
