Washington, DC – Today, the court-ordered reprieve that kept Temporary Protected Status in place for an estimated 350,000 Haitians expires, clearing the way for the administration to enforce the Supreme Court’s June 25 mandate. The D.C. Circuit temporarily blocked the administration’s attempt to strip status and work permits as early as July 24, but that order only guaranteed protections through today. Haitians who have lived and worked here legally for years, many for over a decade, now stand to lose both their ability to work and their protection from deportation.
ICE is reportedly preparing to move fast. Citing federal sources, CBS News reports the agency plans to escalate arrests of Haitian immigrants as early as this week, targeting communities across the country that built their lives around the protections expiring today.
Haitian TPS holders contribute an estimated $5.9 billion to the U.S. economy each year. Nursing homes, home health agencies, and other employers who depend on Haitian TPS holders will lose workers overnight. Families who built their lives here for over a decade now face separation or a return to Haiti still under a State Department Level 4 do-not-travel warning for crime, kidnapping, and civil unrest.
Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice, issued the following statement:
“Hundreds of thousands of vetted Haitians who have worked hard and paid their taxes for decades will be stripped of their legal status as a result of Donald Trump and Stephen Miller’s mass deportation obsessions. In Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania, businesses will lose workers, the elderly will lose caretakers, and families will be separated. Instead of focusing on lowering costs for American families, this Administration is intent on furthering chaos and cruelty as ICE is reportedly gearing up to hunt down our Haitian neighbors in the communities that depend on them most. This madness must end. Congress must act now to extend TPS for Haiti and give more than 350,000 Haitians, our neighbors, parents, faith leaders, and community members, the safety and peace of mind they deserve.”
