On Jan. 8, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Neilsen announced the termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador. The designation, which was granted after two destructive earthquakes in 2001, will terminate in 18 months on Sept. 9, 2019. Last year, the Trump administration announced it is terminating TPS designations for Haitians on July 22, 2019, and for Nicaraguans on Jan. 5, 2019.
 
An estimated 50,000 TPS designees currently work in construction, which already faces a shortage of 500,000 workers to fill existing jobs. On Oct. 11, 2017, as part of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (EWIC), ABC expressed its concern regarding the potential termination of the TPS designation for immigrants in the construction industry and urged Congress and the White House to support a policy that addresses the industry’s workforce needs and recognizes the contributions that these individuals have made to the U.S. economy.