The Trump administration announced Monday that it will end immigration protection for 200,000 Salvadorans living in the United States.
As many as 25,000 people from El Salvador are living in New York under temporary protected status. The status provides relief for foreigners whose countries are hit with natural disasters.
Salvadorans gathered Monday at the consulate of El Salvador in Brentwood to learn more about what their options are now that the protected status will end. Officials say they will have until September of 2019 to leave the U.S. or adjust their legal status.
Rosa Martinez, of Bay Shore, is among those trying to figure out what's next for her and her family. She is a TPS beneficiary who has lived on Long Island for 20 years and has two children, ages 11 and 16.
"I am heartbroken, I don't even know what I'm going to do with my children," Martinez says, tearing up. "They were born here, and now they're going to be sent back. I'm not going to leave my children here -- I can't, they're too young. And this is really, really devastating for my family."
El Salvador is the fourth country whose citizens have lost temporary protected status under the Trump administration. Citizens of Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan also lost the status last year.