Advocates Say Salvadorans Encountering U.S. Work Permit Issues

An immigrant group says some natives of El Salvador are encountering work permit issues.

Jose Palma, a Massachusetts-based coordinator for the National TPS Alliance, says Salvadorans on Temporary Protected Status in Massachusetts and other states are being questioned by employers and local agencies about their legal status because their federal work papers expired Monday.

A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service spokeswoman says Salvadorans on TPS can legally work through Jan. 2, but the agency doesn't plan to reissue work permits before then. She says the plan is explained in a March Federal Register Notice .

The Trump administration is moving to end TPS, which is granted to citizens of countries ravaged by natural disasters or war.

There are some 300,000 TPS holders nationwide, most of them Salvadorans. About 12,000 live in Massachusetts.