{"id":2669004,"date":"2026-09-24T08:43:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T12:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignbooming-el-salvador-begs-u-s-migrants-to-return-but-the-media-keep-lying-about-it\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T08:56:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T12:56:01","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignbooming-el-salvador-begs-u-s-migrants-to-return-but-the-media-keep-lying-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignbooming-el-salvador-begs-u-s-migrants-to-return-but-the-media-keep-lying-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Make El Salvador Great By Ending &#8216;Temporary&#8217; Protected Status"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignbooming-el-salvador-begs-u-s-migrants-to-return-but-the-media-keep-lying-about-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2669004&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Advocates of Salvadorans in the U.S. were relieved when the Trump governance paused plans to end their Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which has protected around 232,000 Salvadorans from deportation for over two decades. Though, the Department of Homeland Security&#8217;s failure to act means these protections are extended for six months, giving the administration more time to decide on termination, which they argue is justified despite ongoing narratives suggesting or else.<\/p>\n<p>Critics claim that ending TPS would force well-established community members to return to el Salvador, which they portray as economically unstable adn unable to support its diaspora. In reality,El Salvador is experiencing a meaningful economic boom driven by government efforts to improve security and infrastructure,with vast foreign investments and a booming construction sector. The government actively encourages returnees through incentives, legal reforms, and programs designed to facilitate their reintegration, including tax exemptions, job matching, and full citizenship pathways for professional diaspora members.<\/p>\n<p>President Bukele\u2019s government has successfully reduced violence, leading to increased investment and growth, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jd-vance-comes-to-rfk-jr-s-defense-after-senate-democrats-turn-hearing-into-a-spectacle\/\" title=\"JD Vance Comes to RFK Jr.&#039;s Defense After Senate Democrats Turn Hearing Into a Spectacle\">maintains high approval ratings<\/a> among Salvadorans.Many in the diaspora, including families and skilled workers, are choosing to return or invest in El Salvador, confident in its economic prospects and security improvements.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden and previous administrations deported thousands of Salvadorans, but despite fears of persecution or culture shock, many voluntary returnees report a better quality of life at home, citing economic opportunities and safety. The overall situation suggests that ending TPS is justified and beneficial, as El Salvador now actively needs and welcomes its returning professionals and skilled workers to sustain its growth and development.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Advocates of Salvadorans remaining in the United States must have felt relief recently when the Trump administration effectively <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/salvadorans-tps-dont-know-long-protections-will-last-dont-panic-advoca-rcna598098\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stayed plans to terminate<\/a> the endlessly renewed \u201cTemporary\u201d Protected Status that has shielded some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/immigration\/2026\/09\/09\/they-were-given-refuge-us-decades-now-their-benefit-is-expiring\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">232,000<\/a> of them from deportation for two-plus decades.<\/p>\n<p>By regulation, the Department of Homeland Security secretary\u2019s failure to act on the latest Salvadoran TPS renewal provides TPS Salvadorans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/immigration\/2026\/09\/09\/they-were-given-refuge-us-decades-now-their-benefit-is-expiring\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">another six months<\/a> in the U.S. and gives the Trump administration more time to contemplate when to terminate it. But terminate it they must, and here is why they would be justified in\u00a0doing so.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear if the White House or the president\u2019s Cabinet again bought the repeated narrative that advocacy lobbyists and the media were selling: that it is immoral to deport Salvadorans into chronic unemployment to face <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=i&#038;source=web&#038;rct=j&#038;url=https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2026\/03\/16\/us\/el-salvador-deportees-forcibly-disappeared&#038;ved=2ahUKEwiqiayRofaWAxUSlGoFHUayKgkQy_kOegYIAAgXEAI&#038;opi=89978449&#038;cd&#038;psig=AOvVaw2S9OH-dmA6KdX3gnOf9JZG&#038;ust=1789756627459000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">extreme persecution<\/a> from the (<a href=\"https:\/\/english.elpais.com\/international\/2025-06-03\/bukele-maintains-his-enormous-popularity-despite-his-image-as-a-dictator.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">extremely popular<\/a>) democratically reelected President Nayib Bukele\u2019s government. But for the next six months, the White House and all Americans can expect to hear pro-illegal immigration activists selling an argument straight from the playbooks of American divorce lawyers: that ending TPS unjustly separates TPS-protected Salvadorans from the indulgent American \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rombrolaw.com\/blog\/maintaining-your-marital-standard-of-living-after-divorce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lifestyle to which they\u2019ve grown accustomed<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTermination of TPS for El Salvador would send these well settled community members to a country \u2026 which does not have the means or capacity to support a diaspora of tens of thousands of people,\u201d a group of 80 Democrat lawmakers <a href=\"https:\/\/mcgovern.house.gov\/uploadedfiles\/_extend_tps_for_el_salvador.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote in a July letter<\/a> to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, typical of the broader messaging campaign. \u201cThe economic foundations in El Salvador are precarious and deteriorating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But, in fact, the polar opposite is true. The Bukele government <a href=\"https:\/\/theworld.org\/stories\/2025\/07\/09\/as-el-salvador-courts-its-exiles-some-begin-to-return\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">is begging its citizens to return<\/a> to fill extreme labor shortages amid a massive, unprecedented real-estate, infrastructure, and construction boom that portends a far softer landing than constantly portrayed. This is especially true for Salvadorans in the U.S. who are likely more skilled than natives who never left. Beyond those protected by TPS, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=i&#038;source=web&#038;rct=j&#038;url=https:\/\/www.migrationpolicy.org\/press-release\/us-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reaches-new-levels-and-diversifies-mpi-estimates&#038;ved=2ahUKEwji6fiKuviWAxWcLtAFHS0lFDwQ0YISegYIAAgREAI&#038;opi=89978449&#038;cd&#038;psig=AOvVaw2h0yc6YR4du_9jP1Fijqqd&#038;ust=1789832044422000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">another nearly 1 million or more Salvadorans<\/a> are believed to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epi.org\/publication\/unauthorized-immigrants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">living illegally<\/a> in the United States.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Boom Times<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Current and prospective U.S. returnees should find a government so eager to staff El Salvador\u2019s economic boom with semi-skilled and very skilled workers that it has launched a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pkhU9TemV9M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reverse Migration<\/a>\u201d campaign and five-year incentive-based recruitment strategy that is heavily targeting those who have lived for years in the United States. It includes a new law that provides financial incentives to settle these Salvadorans in good jobs that will serve the country\u2019s explosive economic growth across key nation-building economic sectors. <\/p>\n<p>It all started in 2022 when Bukele launched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs_external_products\/IN\/HTML\/IN12510.web.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nationwide security sweeps<\/a> that transformed his country of 6.4 million from one of the world\u2019s most dangerous to one of the region\u2019s most investible in recent years by jailing between 75,000 and 100,000 members of El Salvador\u2019s infamously ubiquitous crime gangs. This has contributed to a reported 98 percent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latintimes.com\/el-salvador-just-hit-218-homicide-free-days-2026-heres-how-rest-central-america-compares-599196\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reduction in homicides<\/a> since 2015.<\/p>\n<p>In turn, improved public security has fostered historic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cemnet.com\/News\/story\/180368\/el-salvador-cement-demand-surges-22-on-construction-boom.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">infrastructure<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economicsobservatory.com\/the-development-challenge-in-el-salvador-is-lower-crime-enough\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tourism<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mordorintelligence.com\/industry-reports\/el-salvador-construction-market\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">real-estate<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/solazmar.com\/el-salvadors-2026-real-estate-boom-why-investors-are-looking-at-la-union\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">housing<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/thebusinessyear.com\/article\/el-salvadors-construction-boom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">skyscraper<\/a>, and resort construction booms, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/gfmag.com\/emerging-frontier-markets\/el-salvador-real-estate-takes-off\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global Finance<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/thebusinessyear.com\/article\/el-salvadors-construction-boom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">other foreign business publications<\/a>. El Salvador\u2019s gross domestic product <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kucoin.com\/news\/flash\/imf-hails-el-salvador-s-economic-growth-projects-4-5-gdp-rise-in-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">is projected to rise by 4.5 percent<\/a> in 2026, and the immediate future looks bright. Billions in foreign investment are still pouring in from major foreign lenders like the International Monetary Fund. <\/p>\n<p>Maybe Salvadorans know something Bukele\u2019s accusers don\u2019t and would be happy to share their perceptions with returnees. Bukele\u2019s notorious high-security gang prison and anti-gang security programs have indeed drawn sharp international criticism for arresting and imprisoning suspected gang members outside of normal legal systems, and leftist pro-illegal immigration groups claim he will oppress returnees like he does domestic opponents.<\/p>\n<p>But polling consistently shows massive popular support for Bukele in ranges <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1264586\/approval-salvadoran-president-bukele\/?srsltid=AU7gw4UIiIXs6nhJF7vIQh39aQ0MZtFezOgsywyHVhO7-FrFbmGxDNL4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">far exceeding 80 percent approval<\/a> rates, and he was overwhelmingly reelected in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Nor does the prospect of authoritarian persecution seem to be weighing very heavily on the minds of Salvadorans in the U.S. Their money is speaking loudly. <\/p>\n<p>Indeed, even Salvadoran families and workers in the U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=57cX5ZkGww0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">are driving some of the residential building spree<\/a>, buying up high-end beachfront condos and housing with the money they\u2019ve saved working here.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A Soft Landing<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>U.S. illegal immigration advocates and U.S. media such as The New York Times have regularly sought to portray Bukele as a Trump supplicant whose public statements urging his people to come home are appeasing, meaningless lip service. Bukele can\u2019t mean any of it, this narrative contends, because his country relies so heavily on remittance money from the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>But Secretary Mullin can feel comfortable knowing that easily verified new realities reveal these narratives as obsolete and preposterous. So genuinely does the El Salvador government value returnees over their remittances that its Legislative Assembly last year passed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.refworld.org\/es\/leg\/legis\/pleg\/2025\/150439\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Special Law 375<\/a> offering aggressive financial and travel incentives to TPS Salvadorans. <\/p>\n<p>It provides duty-free importation for up to $100,000 worth of household cargo and even two personal vehicles that families can bring back from the U.S., as well as commercial work vehicles and specialized equipment to establish businesses. <\/p>\n<p>The law even provides a tax exemption to incentivize Salvadorans to transfer their cash from American banks to Salvadoran ones. Returnees will land softly with plenty of help; the Ministry of Labor devised a registry called \u201cJobs for Returned Salvadorans\u201d that matches returnees with jobs and incentivizes companies to participate.<\/p>\n<p>A separate \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HU8zJcDutJU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Free Passports<\/a>\u201d program aims to fast-track elite diaspora professionals into the social fabric of the country as immediate full citizens, including scientists, engineers, doctors, and artists. A \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.migracion.gob.sv\/programa-bienvenido-a-casa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Welcome Home<\/a>\u201d program and other <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >related initiatives provide emergency shelter vouchers<\/a>, comprehensive medical checkups, and legal case management to help returnees settle.<\/p>\n<p>The Bukele government also <a href=\"https:\/\/refugees.org\/uscri-el-salvador\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">distributes funds<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nayibbukele\/status\/1908985109149024391\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to support<\/a> micro-enterprises, small stores, and repair shops for returnees. The Inter-American Development Bank <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iadb.org\/en\/news\/el-salvador-opens-path-higher-education-60000-vulnerable-youth-idb-support\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">approved $100 million<\/a> in financing help for about 60,000 young Salvadorans, including U.S. returnees, for college financial aid and scholarships. <\/p>\n<h2><strong>How It\u2019s Going<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Trump administration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2026\/03\/16\/us\/el-salvador-deportees-forcibly-disappeared\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">deported 9,000-plus<\/a> Salvadorans between the start of 2025 and March of this year, including <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/us-deportations-el-salvador-bukele-trump-f62382064b466435b8d2db454e21fc57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">5,000 in just the first three months<\/a> of 2026. Thousands more will no doubt be deported in the next two years of his administration. It\u2019s unclear how many Salvadorans have voluntarily returned to take advantage of these incentives, although some clearly have.<\/p>\n<p>Immigration advocacy publications universally showcase only deportee complaints of fear, loathing, and culture shock. But by suppressing El Salvador\u2019s new lease on economic life, the fearmongering media narrative hides the full picture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy country is beautiful and totally safe,\u201d Orsi Chicas, a 52-year-old Salvadoran who left California after 20 years working in hospitality and construction, <a href=\"https:\/\/theworld.org\/stories\/2025\/07\/09\/as-el-salvador-courts-its-exiles-some-begin-to-return\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told Public Radio\u2019s The World<\/a>. \u201cThe U.S. is good for working, but it\u2019s hard, physical labor, and not everyone is made for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chicas and other voluntary returnees said all the money they earned in the United States goes a long way in El Salvador.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy U.S. pension wasn\u2019t enough to live on in California,\u201d said Jose Vidal, who returned after three decades in L.A. \u201cBut here in San Salvador, I can get by comfortably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bottom line is that Salvadorans who spent years gaining work experience and education in the United States most assuredly do not face terrible lives back home. They don\u2019t need protection from El Salvador. El Salvador not only <em>wants<\/em> these relative elites. It <em>needs<\/em> them. The Trump administration needs to terminate TPS for El Salvador without further delay.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Todd Bensman is a senior research fellow in the Heritage Foundation\u2019s Border Security and Immigration Center. Prior to joining Heritage, he served in the Trump administration as a senior adviser to the Department of Homeland Security, Border Czar Tom Homan, and the National Counterterrorism Center.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Salvadorans in US breathe relief as TPS renewal is delayed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":635,"featured_media":2669006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/UNGA-Trump-Bilateral-Meeting.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[44880,41893,52619,76422],"class_list":["post-2669004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-el-salvador","tag-immigration-reform","tag-temporary-protected-status","tag-us-immigration-policy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/UNGA-Trump-Bilateral-Meeting.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2669004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/635"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2669004"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2669004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2669017,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2669004\/revisions\/2669017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2669006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2669004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2669004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2669004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}