A Salvadoran couple adopted three American daughters. Now they face threat of deportation

Rebecca Plevin, The Desert Sun

A couple from El Salvador, who are unnamed in this article to protect their privacy, have been living and working legally in the United States for nearly 20 years under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, a protection that was recently revoked for Salvadorans by the US government. The couple now face deportation and wonder what will happen with their three adopted daughters, all of whom are US-born. "The rules have changed," says the author. "S.M. and A.A. are slated to lose their temporary status in September 2019. The clock is ticking and the Coachella parents are caught between three choices:

  • Move their daughters to El Salvador, a nation so unsafe that the American government warns tourists against traveling there;
  • Return to El Salvador without their daughters, splitting apart their family;
  • Or remain in the U.S. as undocumented immigrants, trying to maintain their lives while facing the daily threat of arrest or deportation."