September 3, 2026 - Las Vegas, Nev. – On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) highlighted the need to extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador. Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge, Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 13 Business Agent Robert Fuentes, and National TPS Alliance Nevada Chapter Co-Coordinator Francis Garcia joined her.

Nevada is home to close to 6,000 TPS recipients, immigrants from countries to which they cannot safely return. Since 2001, TPS has been a lifeline for over 170,000 Salvadorans living in the U.S., but the TPS designation for El Salvador will expire on September 9 if the Trump Administration doesn’t immediately act to extend it. The end of TPS for Salvadorans would tear apart families and significantly disrupt the hospitality and construction industries in Southern Nevada.

“Salvadoran TPS holders helped build Las Vegas as we know it, and they work in nearly every hotel on the Strip,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “But now, their protections are at risk because the Trump Administration has not extended the TPS designation for El Salvador, which is set to expire a week from today. President Trump should do the right thing and extend TPS for Salvadorans.”

The first and only Latina Senator, Cortez Masto has consistently supported immigrant communities in Nevada. She has called on both the Biden and Trump Administrations to protect Dreamers, TPS holders, and other immigrants. Cortez Masto has worked to pass meaningful immigration reform that balances critical border security measures with a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. Earlier this year, the Senator attended and spoke at a naturalization ceremony for new American citizens at the Sand Harbor Amphitheater at Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

Source: Senator Catherine Cortez Masto