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Montgomery County’s largest immigrant community waits, uncertain, as TPS deadline passes

Tuesday was supposed to be the day tens of thousands of Salvadoran families in Montgomery County found out whether they could keep legally working here. Instead, the deadline came and went. The federal government has said nothing, according to Montgomery County officials.

Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador was set to expire Sept. 9. The Department of Homeland Security still hadn’t announced whether it would end the designation or extend it. Families are still waiting.

“We have Salvadoran TPS holders who don’t know whether or not they will be able to continue to work for the next month, for the next two months,” said Ama Frempong, chief of services at CASA, the region’s largest immigrant advocacy organization.

A community that’s been here for a generation

This isn’t an abstract policy question in Montgomery County. Salvadorans make up the largest Latino community here. More than 74,000 residents identify as being of Salvadoran origin, according to Montgomery Planning data. County Executive Marc Elrich estimated that 10,000 to 30,000 of them hold TPS specifically.

El Salvador has held TPS status since 2001. Many of the people now waiting to hear their fate have lived here for close to 25 years. Some have raised kids who’ve only known Montgomery County as home.

“These are our parents and grandparents, homeowners and workers, business owners, neighbors and community leaders,” Council President Natali Fani-González’s office said in a statement Tuesday.

What happens if it ends

If TPS ends, affected residents don’t just lose a legal status. They lose the ability to work. Jaime Contreras, executive vice president of 32BJ SEIU’s Capital Area District, estimated roughly 1,000 to 1,500 of his own union’s Montgomery County members could be affected.

He said the industries that would feel it fastest touch every resident: construction crews, hotel and restaurant staff, office cleaners, security guards, home health aides caring for elderly residents.

“I am having discussions with all my employers,” Contreras said. One told him he could lose a quarter of his workforce overnight. “It doesn’t make any economic sense whatsoever.”

Contreras said he’s telling those employers one thing for now: wait.

“Until an announcement is made, you better not touch any of my members,” he said.

Why the county is speaking up

Montgomery County has no power over TPS. It’s a federal designation. But county leaders say they can still make clear whose side they’re on.

“We believe that enforcing federal immigration laws is the responsibility of the federal government, not Montgomery County,” Elrich said. He pointed to the Trust Act, which he signed in February to limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Elrich also cited immigration sweeps last month across Maryland and Virginia. Those sweeps led to more than 1,300 arrests, he said. Frempong said advocates believe most of those arrests lacked warrants or probable cause. MCM has not independently verified that claim.

What Montgomery County residents can do right now

Frempong said the worst thing anyone affected can do is wait for an official announcement. Act now instead, she said, and:

  • Talk to an immigration attorney, before any deadline, to find out if other legal protections might apply
  • Put together a family safety plan: a secure, accessible place for birth certificates, passports and immigration paperwork
  • Make sure someone else knows who can pick up your kids from school or access their medical records if you’re detained
  • Carry proof of lawful status at all times; Frempong said the county has documented cases of U.S. citizens and green card holders detained due to racial profiling

Fani-González’s office also urged residents to watch for immigration scams. Immigration legal advice should only come from a licensed attorney or a Department of Justice-accredited representative, staff from Fani-González’s office shared. Residents should be wary of anyone promising a “quick fix” or guaranteed status.

Where to get help

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