What Happened?

The status of more than 170,000 Salvadorans living in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) remains unresolved. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a new report on Oct. 6 documenting a bilateral relationship with El Salvador that has strengthened under President Donald Trump. The report documents a security partnership that has grown closer under President Donald Trump, even as some lawmakers push to restrict it. ​

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in September that an announcement on El Salvador's TPS would come "at the appropriate time" and that Salvadorans currently under TPS kept their protections, including work authorization, until then.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

Salvadorans under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) keep their protection, including work authorization, until U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announces a decision on El Salvador's status. Remittances sent from the U.S. made up nearly 96 percent of all estimated remittances El Salvador received from abroad in 2025, according to the CRS report. Money sent home by Salvadorans in the U.S. is the dominant source of outside income for families back in El Salvador.

Congress is also weighing whether to restrict or condition U.S. funding tied to the security arrangement with El Salvador, which could affect how the bilateral relationship develops.

Both Sides, Now

Bilateral cooperation has expanded under the Trump administration, including an arrangement to house immigrants deported from the U.S. who are alleged to have ties to terrorist organizations in Salvadoran prisons. The administration has designated MS-13 and Barrio 18 as foreign terrorist organizations.

Critics cite documented abuses: Human Rights Watch reported at least 458 detainees died in Salvadoran prisons during the state of emergency, with no apparent accountability. Human Rights Watch also documented that the U.S. sent 252 Venezuelans, including dozens of asylum seekers, to El Salvador's CECOT prison in March and April 2025, and described torture and other abuses against those men. In December 2025, a federal judge said those Venezuelan men had been denied due process, according to NPR.

In May 2025, the Senate rejected, 45-50, a motion to discharge Senate resolution S.Res. 195, which sought a State Department human rights report. A May poll found nearly 88 percent approved of President Nayib Bukele's performance, according to the Instituto Universitario de Opinión Pública, while human rights and democracy organizations argue that constitutional changes enacted since 2025 have weakened checks and balances.

What Happens Next?

Several bills in Congress would prohibit certain U.S. funding for Salvadoran prisons, impose sanctions, and restrict assistance. A separate bill would require an 18-month TPS designation for El Salvador, but as of the CRS report's publication it had not moved past referral to committee.

El Salvador's next presidential election is scheduled for February 2027, with Bukele's New Ideas party having nominated him for a third term in July.

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