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After ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in late 2017 for Haitians and Nicaraguans, the White House announced Monday it will end TPS for Salvadorans, the largest group of TPS recipients. This will subject more than 200,000 immigrants to deportation if they cannot find another way to adjust their status.

El Salvador is a tiny country that has had a significant impact on the United States. For example, a Maryland-based construction company founded by Salvadoran immigrants rebuilt the Pentagon after 9/11 – on time and under budget. El Salvador was among the first to join our coalition in Iraq, sending thousands of soldiers to fight and die alongside Americans.

In the 1980s, El Salvador was on the front lines of America’s global confrontation with the Soviet Union; Salvadorans fought a bitter civil war that played an important role in delivering America’s Cold War victory a few years later. During and after that war, hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans came to the United States, many crossing the border illegally and others overstaying their visas.

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More important is the potential impact on our own country. Some 2 million people of Salvadoran origin, most legal residents or citizens, have earned positions in their communities through hard work and a remarkable spirit of enterprise.

Inevitably, deporting 200,000 Salvadorans means the U.S. government sends armed officers into homes to separate men and women from their spouses, children, and parents. And, economically depriving U.S. businesses with employees impacting economic growth.

Their status was always tenuous because a TPS recipient cannot apply for permanent residence in the United States without something more, marrying a citizen or getting an employer sponsorship. It is also true that 200,000 people compared to the United States population of 350 million is a drop in the bucket. Nonetheless, these immigrants followed the law.

These immigrants also contributed significantly to the U.S. economy. A Center for American Progress analysis finds that the U.S. economy would lose $146 billion in GDP over ten years if Salvadoran, Honduran, and Haitian TPS recipients are removed from the labor force.

They were vetted by the U.S. government, admitted, allowed to work, and supported themselves. Despite the uncertainty of their status, these immigrants have been contributing to our country for nearly two decades. We should think carefully about a policy whose major impacts are likely to be reductions in employment and economic activity here at home, and increased instability and lawlessness along our borders.