Deporting Salvadorans Will Hurt U.S. Economy & Disrupt Their Country
gvw_inside_sources
By InsideSources.com
Published 7 years ago on
January 16, 2018

Share


 

Opinion by
Matthew Rooney and Laura Collins
After ending Temporary Protected Status in late 2017 for Haitians and Nicaraguans, the White House announced last week that it will end TPS for Salvadorans, the largest group of TPS recipients. This will subject more than 200,000 immigrants to deportation if they cannot find another way to adjust their status.
El Salvador is a tiny country that has had a significant effect on the United States. For example, a Maryland-based construction company founded by Salvadoran immigrants rebuilt the Pentagon after 9/11 — on time and under budget. El Salvador was among the first to join our coalition in Iraq, sending thousands of soldiers to fight and die alongside Americans.

El Salvador Helped U.S. Defeat Soviet Union in Cold War

In the 1980s, El Salvador was on the front lines of America’s global confrontation with the Soviet Union; Salvadorans fought a bitter civil war that played an important role in delivering America’s Cold War victory a few years later. During and after that war, hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans came to the United States, many crossing the border illegally and others overstaying their visas.
When a series of earthquakes struck the country in 2001, destroying 100,000 homes and crippling the economy, the United States responded with three initiatives: Bilateral assistance to leverage El Salvador’s efforts to rebuild housing; a free trade agreement that opened economic opportunities and promoted economic growth; and granting TPS status to more than 200,000 Salvadorans already in the United States.
There were two reasons for granting TPS: First, and most immediately, the Salvadoran economy would not have absorbed all those displaced had we deported them in the years after the earthquakes. Second, remittances by Salvadorans in the United States to family members in El Salvador are an important part of El Salvador’s economy. Allowing Salvadorans to stay in the United States and send money home ensured that a larger share of the reconstruction burden would be borne by Salvadorans, not by foreign aid paid by American taxpayers.

Salvadoran Economy is Fragile

Almost exactly 17 years after the first earthquake struck, what has changed?
The homes destroyed by the earthquakes have long since been rebuilt, and the damaged economic infrastructure repaired, but the Salvadoran economy remains fragile.
Poorly funded and poorly equipped, El Salvador’s police forces are outgunned and outspent by powerful street gangs that collaborate with Mexico’s drug cartels to move narcotics from South America to the United States. The result is a level of violent crime that deters investment, suffocating economic growth and job creation.

In the 1980s, El Salvador was on the front lines of America’s global confrontation with the Soviet Union; Salvadorans fought a bitter civil war that played an important role in delivering America’s Cold War victory a few years later.
Remittance payments from Salvadorans in the United States remain an anchor of the economy of El Salvador. To cut off those flows and thrust more than 200,000 people onto the Salvadoran job market will destabilize an already volatile situation, weaken ties and strengthening drug gangs. Ultimately, making it that much harder to achieve our goals in Central America and touching off new waves of illegal immigration across our southern border.
More important is the potential effect on our own country. Two million people of Salvadoran origin, most legal residents or citizens, have earned positions in their communities through hard work and a remarkable spirit of enterprise.
Inevitably, deporting 200,000 Salvadorans means the U.S. government sends armed officers into homes to separate men and women from their spouses, children and parents. And, economically depriving U.S. businesses with employees affecting economic growth.

Salvadoran Immigrants Vetted by U.S.

Their status was always tenuous because a TPS recipient cannot apply for permanent residence in the United States without something more, marrying a citizen or getting an employer sponsorship. It is also true that 200,000 people compared to the U.S. population of 350 million is a drop in the bucket. Nonetheless, these immigrants followed the law.
These immigrants also contributed significantly to the U.S. economy. A Center for American Progress analysis finds that the U.S. economy would lose $146 billion in GDP over 10 years if Salvadoran, Honduran and Haitian TPS recipients are removed from the labor force.
They were vetted by the U.S. government, admitted, allowed to work and supported themselves. Despite the uncertainty of their status, these immigrants have been contributing to our country for nearly two decades. We should think carefully about a policy whose major effects are likely to be reductions in employment and economic activity here at home, and increased instability and lawlessness along our borders.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Matthew Rooney is director of economic growth at the George W. Bush Institute, and Laura Collins is the deputy director. They wrote this for InsideSources.com.

DON'T MISS

23 for ’23: A Year in Photos

DON'T MISS

See How this Fresno roastery sends aid to Northern Thailand.

DON'T MISS

District Says Fresno Teachers Contract Proposal Would Bankrupt Budget Reserves by Year 3

DON'T MISS

Trump Vows to Ban Gaza Refugees, Expand Muslim Travel Ban If He Wins

DON'T MISS

The Supreme Court Orders Makers of Gun Parts to Comply with Rules on Ghost Guns

DON'T MISS

George W. Bush for Speaker? A Democratic Lawmaker Thinks It’s Possible

DON'T MISS

Former Navy IT Manager Gets Five Years for Hacking, ID Theft

DON'T MISS

Gunman Kills Two Swedes in Brussels, Prompting Terror Alert and Halt of Belgium-Sweden Soccer Match

DON'T MISS

Zakaria: The Best Response to Hamas Would Be to Keep the Saudi Deal Alive

DON'T MISS

Groundbreaking Human Brain Atlas Offers New Hope for Treating Neurological Disorders

UP NEXT

George W. Bush for Speaker? A Democratic Lawmaker Thinks It’s Possible

UP NEXT

What Does Destroying Gaza Solve?

UP NEXT

How Liberal California Compares to Florida, Texas on Social Media Regulation

UP NEXT

City of Fresno’s Israeli Flag Raising Draws Supporters and Protesters

UP NEXT

Former Fresno CC Coach Ed Madec Arrested for Allegedly Threatening to Kill Chancellor

UP NEXT

Trump Vows to Ban Gaza Refugees, Expand Muslim Travel Ban If He Wins

UP NEXT

Former Navy IT Manager Gets Five Years for Hacking, ID Theft

UP NEXT

Zakaria: The Best Response to Hamas Would Be to Keep the Saudi Deal Alive

UP NEXT

Newsom Signs Law to Slowly Raise Healthcare Minimum Wage to $25

UP NEXT

Groundbreaking Human Brain Atlas Offers New Hope for Treating Neurological Disorders

You May like

Trump Vows to Ban Gaza Refugees, Expand Muslim Travel Ban If He Wins

1 year ago

The Supreme Court Orders Makers of Gun Parts to Comply with Rules on Ghost Guns

1 year ago

George W. Bush for Speaker? A Democratic Lawmaker Thinks It’s Possible

1 year ago

Former Navy IT Manager Gets Five Years for Hacking, ID Theft

1 year ago

Gunman Kills Two Swedes in Brussels, Prompting Terror Alert and Halt of Belgium-Sweden Soccer Match

1 year ago

Zakaria: The Best Response to Hamas Would Be to Keep the Saudi Deal Alive

1 year ago

Groundbreaking Human Brain Atlas Offers New Hope for Treating Neurological Disorders

1 year ago

Newsom Signs Law to Slowly Raise Healthcare Minimum Wage to $25

1 year ago

Former Fresno CC Coach Ed Madec Arrested for Allegedly Threatening to Kill Chancellor

1 year ago

Jim Jordan’s Rapid Rise Cheered by Trump and Far Right. Could It Make Him Speaker?

1 year ago

HOT OFF THE PRESS

23 for ’23: A Year in Photos

1 year ago

1 year ago

Trump Vows to Ban Gaza Refugees, Expand Muslim Travel Ban If He Wins

1 year ago

The Supreme Court Orders Makers of Gun Parts to Comply with Rules on Ghost Guns

Photo of a hacker typing on a laptop

1 year ago

Former Navy IT Manager Gets Five Years for Hacking, ID Theft