Trump administration ends protected status for 200,000 Salvadorans

US citizen Benjamin Zepeda, 14, at podium, with his mother Lorena Zepeda, right, who benefits from Temporary Protected Status address a news conference in Los Angeles, Monday, Jan. 8, 2018. The Trump administration said Monday it is ending special protections for Salvadoran immigrants, an action that could force nearly 200,000 to leave the U.S. by September 2019 or face deportation. El Salvador is the fourth country whose citizens have lost Temporary Protected Status under President Donald Trump. Salvadorans have been, by far, the largest beneficiaries of the program, which provides humanitarian relief for foreigners whose countries are hit with natural disasters or other strife. [Photo: AP/Damian Dovarganes]