The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion Tuesday to assist Temporary Protected Status communities amid uncertainty about whether the federal government will allow a lapse in protections for Salvadoran nationals in the United States.
In a 13-0 vote, the council voted to study how much more money they can responsibly contribute to RepresentLA, a legal defense program for immigrants, as well as rental assistance or other financial aid, outreach and education, and specific supports for vulnerable communities within the TPS population.
In budget discussions for the current fiscal year, the council and Mayor Karen Bass authorized $1 million for the program. In past years, the city has provided about $1 million to $2 million for the program.
Council members Heather Hutt and Tim McOsker were absent during Tuesday’s meeting.
The council also instructed staff to conduct an analysis of the economic impacts if TPS protections were to be terminated for Salvadorans, including industries likely to be affected and what those impacts might look like.
Earlier this month, the council’s three-member Civil Rights, Immigration, Social Services and Neighborhoods committee advanced the motion in a unanimous vote. Council members Hugo Soto-Martinez and Monica Rodriguez introduced the motion in late August.
On Tuesday, Soto-Martinez said the motion was about protecting Angelenos who are being left in legal limbo by the Trump administration. He said the federal government has stripped away legal protections for immigrants from country after country, such as Haiti, Sudan, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Honduras.
“They’re unsure if they’ll be able to keep living here, working here, paying their taxes here, and supporting their families here. While we don’t know exactly what’s going to happen next, that’s exactly why we are doing this report and doing this work is super important,” Soto-Martinez said.
“As a city, we need to ask ourselves how we can use our departments and resources to support this very predictable situation that may be coming,” the councilman added.
Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez noted that the city is home to a large population of Salvadoran communities. She added that it’s important to provide TPS groups with the right information and connect them with reputable organizations. The councilwoman said she doesn’t want to see people making “hasty decisions such as quitting their jobs.”
On Sept. 9, the Trump administration declined to end TPS for thousands of Salvadoran immigrants, meaning they can still legally work and live in the United States for now.
“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,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
El Salvador is being led by Nayib Bukele, an ally to President Donald Trump, who last year agreed to accept and hold U.S. deportees in exchange for millions of dollars from the Trump administration.
TPS is a program that allows immigrants from countries with armed conflict and natural disasters to work in the United States. It was expected to expire for people from El Salvador on Wednesday, leaving an estimated 170,000 immigrants and their 150,000 children in limbo nationwide.
The program for Salvadorans typically has been renewed every 18 months. But after the Department of Homeland Security terminated TPS for about 300,000 Haitians in July, many Salvadorans are preparing for the possibility of having to leave the country.