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Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has accepted deportees from the United States and housed them at the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, the country’s maximum-security megaprison. File Photo by Rodrigo Sura/EPA

Sept. 10 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans will remain in effect until further notice.

Although the program was set to expire Wednesday, the unexpected announcement means that approximately 200,000 Salvadorans living in the United States will remain protected under TPS until the government issues a final decision.

A notation on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services page noted that “An announcement on El Salvador’s TPS will be made at the appropriate time. Until such announcement is made, Salvadoran individuals present in the U.S. under TPS retain protection including work authorization.”

The program has been in place since 2001, when the George W. Bush administration granted TPS to Salvadorans after two earthquakes struck El Salvador on Jan. 13 and Feb. 13 that year.

Salvadorans covered by TPS face several possible scenarios as they await a final decision from the Department of Homeland Security.

The program can legally be extended automatically for six months if the Homeland Security secretary does not make an official decision or publish a notice of extension or termination in the Federal Register at least 60 days before the program expires.

On Tuesday, Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, who has advocated ending TPS, said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin will decide what lies ahead.

“If it expires, the final decision rests with the secretary,” Homan said when asked about TPS. “Temporary protected status means temporary. Let’s be realistic. El Salvador is a much safer country than ever now that there is a new president,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

The Salvadoran case is an exception amid a systematic dismantling of the program.

Since January 2025, the Trump administration has ended or begun the process of terminating TPS for 13 countries, affecting an estimated more than 1 million people, according to data from the Pew Research Center.

The factor that appears to set El Salvador apart is the relationship between Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and President Donald Trump.

Bukele has been one of the most active allies of Trump’s immigration policies, accepting deportees from the United States and housing them at the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, the country’s maximum-security megaprison.