Entering Arlington on I-395 from D.C. (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
Acquisition for Ballston Company — “Safran Defense and Space Inc., the Arlington-based unit of French aerospace manufacturing giant Safran SA, is beefing up its ties to the U.S. defense sector with its first-ever acquisition. The company, whose U.S. headquarters is in Ballston, has acquired Attollo Engineering, a Camarillo, California, company.” [WBJ]
Results from Local Tech Fund — “A county-backed fund in Arlington is seeing some return on investment as it enters its third year. The Arlington Innovation Fund… granted funding to startups in early 2024: Nine firms received non-dilutive funding ranging from $25,000 to $50,000. Since then, companies have collectively raised $25 million after participating in what’s called the Catalyst Grant Program.” [Technically]
Arlington Then and Now — ” I can remember walking on the North Scott Street bridge over I-66, on my way to the Metro, and wondering why there was no traffic on the highway (I-66 in Arlington had not yet been opened). At that time the Ballston Metro was the end of the line.” [FCNP]
Substance Abuse in N. Va. — “Inova Health on Wednesday released new data finding nearly half of adults in Northern Virginia are either personally impacted by substance use or know someone who is, with even higher numbers among millennials.” [FFXnow]
It’s Tuesday — Expect sunny skies and a high of around 76 degrees with a northeast wind blowing at 6 to 9 mph. By Tuesday night, the sky will be mostly cloudy with a low temperature near 59 degrees. [NWS]
Expect sunny skies and a high of around 76 degrees with a northeast wind blowing at 6 to 9 mph. By Tuesday night, the sky will be mostly cloudy with a low temperature near 59 degrees, and the northeast wind will continue at approximately 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Man is by nature a political animal.” – Aristotle
Thanks for reading! If you have something to say about an issue of local note not covered today, feel free to post it as a letter to the editor on our new forum.
This sponsored column is by Law Office of James Montana PLLC. All questions about it should be directed to James Montana, Esq., Janice Chen, Esq., and Victoria Khaydar, Esq., practicing attorneys at The Law Office of James Montana PLLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Falls Church, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice, contact us for an appointment.
Temporary Protected Status is supposed to be temporary. Congress built it that way on purpose. Congress also built it to be predictable, so that the people who rely on it, and the employers who hire them, know where they stand. Congress also did that on purpose. The statute sets deadlines and requires the government to publish its decisions.
In September, the unstoppable force of TPS elimination met the immovable object of “Here come the midterms!” and the Trump Administration simply blinked, but in such a way that nobody will be happy: neither the federal judiciary, nor immigration hawks, nor, God knows, TPS beneficiaries themselves.
How TPS is supposed to work
The TPS statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1254a, is not complicated. At least 60 days before a country’s designation expires, the Secretary of Homeland Security must review conditions in that country. He must then decide whether to extend or terminate the designation, and publish that decision in the Federal Register. A termination cannot take effect until at least 60 days after that notice is published.
Congress also anticipated a Secretary who doesn’t get around to deciding. Here is the text, in relevant part (our highlights in bold):
If the Attorney General does not determine under subparagraph (A) that a foreign state no longer meets the conditions for designation under paragraph (1) by the time required under such subparagraph, the period of designation of the foreign state is extended for an additional period of 6 months (or, in the discretion of the Attorney General, a period of 12 or 18 months).
El Salvador: 25 years, and then nothing
El Salvador has been designated for TPS since the earthquakes of 2001. Its most recent extension, published in January 2025, ran through September 9, 2026. The deadline for the Secretary’s decision was therefore July 11, 2026.
July 11 came and went, and so did September 9, with no Federal Register notice of any kind. Instead, the USCIS El Salvador TPS page now carries this alert:
An announcement on El Salvador’s TPS will be made at the appropriate time. Until such announcement is made, Salvadoran individuals present in the U.S. under TPS retain protection including work authorization.
“At the appropriate time.” The appropriate time was July 11!
Our reading of the statute is that El Salvador’s designation has been extended by operation of law, for at least six months, to March 9, 2027. The government hasn’t said so, and it may claim that a termination decision was made quietly and never announced. Even on that theory, the statute requires that a termination be published, and it cannot take effect until 60 days after publication. Either way, no Salvadoran TPS holder should lose status without at least 60 days’ public notice in the Federal Register.
O'Connell brothers Jayse Brefczynski, left, and Landon Brefczynski, behind, attempt to overtake a Langley High School runner (staff photo by Dave Facinoli)
The Brefczynski brothers — Jayse, a junior, and Landon, a freshman — posted breakout performances in high-school cross-country competition during an early-season fall meet.
Please join us in congratulating Benny Mirpuri, owner of Fast-Fix Jewelry and Watch Repair at Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, on reaching an incredible 35 years in business.
For three and a half decades, Benny has proudly served the Pentagon City and surrounding communities, providing quality jewelry and watch repair services along with the exceptional customer service that has made Fast-Fix a trusted local business.
Molly Hardwick figured the odds of her finishing first in her initial high-school cross-country race were about as long as winning the billion-dollar Powerball lottery.
“A million to one, about zero chance,” the Yorktown Patriots‘ sophomore runner said of her victory expectations.
Featuring both voice and instrumental performance on vielle, lute, gittern, harp, recorder, douçaine, and bagpipe, the program will include works by, among others, Johannes Ciconia, Trebor, Johannes Senleches, Solage, Guillaume de Machaut, Guillaume Dufay, and Gilles Binchois, rousing dance music from medieval Florence and finely wrought instrumental arrangements from the Faenza codex and the Buxheim Organ book.
An EHO duplex on N. Troy Street in May 2025 (staff photo by Dan Egitto)
Arlington’s “Missing Middle” ordinance may make a comeback after a new ruling in the Virginia Court of Appeals.
In a Friday decision, a panel of three judges returned to the court’s original stance that effectively put the zoning change back on the books in June, creating big obstacles for plaintiffs.
A 25-year-old Arlington man and a teen boy are facing charges after a man was stabbed several times Friday night along S. Arlington Mill Drive.
A motive for the attack, which prompted a large police response, was not given. The victim was hospitalized “with injuries considered non-life-threatening.”
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at an Arlington School Board meeting while Tony Weaver, Mary Detweiler and other activists wave trans flags (staff photo by Dan Egitto)
A federal district court has dismissed an Arlington School Board lawsuit over a threatened freeze on federal funding, saying it’s the wrong venue for the case.
A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia threw out lawsuits by the Arlington School Board and Fairfax County School Board on Friday.
Reason 2 Rock 2024 (via Reason 2 Rock Music Festival/Facebook)
D.C.-area musicians are coming together in Falls Church later this month to support assistance to unhoused people.
Four bands are set to perform at the third annual Reason 2 Rock Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 20. The event will donate 100% of its proceeds to the Arlington-based nonprofit PathForward.
A vaccine recipient at Arlington County's vaccine clinic (via Arlington County/YouTube)
Federal restrictions on the latest Covid-19 vaccine are affecting pharmacies across Virginia, including in Arlington.
Virginia is one of almost a dozen states where, at least for the time being, the Food and Drug Administration is requiring many patients to have a prescription in order to receive updated Covid-19 shots.
NAACP Arlington Branch is thrilled to invite you to a vibrant evening honoring the collective power, resilience, and unity of our people. On October 17th, we are coming together to celebrate community strength, shared progress, and unapologetic pride. This won’t just be an event—it will be an energetic celebration of what happens when we rise together.
