Haitian immigrants in the US face deportation risks with early end of TPS
Lawsuit filed by labor union has temporarily blocked Trump’s early end to TPS for over 500,000 Haitian nationals
Haitian immigrants protest Trump's immigration policies under his first administration (Photo: Fibonacci Blue)
Over 500,000 Haitian immigrants in the US wait with baited breath for the expiration of their Temporary Protective Status (TPS). On July 1, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced that it would be ending the designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status. Under TPS, Haitian immigrants who were already present in the US were allowed to stay and work in the US for a limited period of time as the US had deemed it unsafe for them to return or be deported back to Haiti.
With the Trump administration’s announcement this month, TPS is set to end for Haiti on September 2, after which Haitian immigrants living in the US will no longer have TPS protection. This is several months before the Biden administration’s expiration date of February 3, 2026. The same day this decision was announced, US District Judge Brian M. Cogan blocked DHS from ending TPS for Haitian immigrants. This means that DHS’s decision to end TPS early is temporarily blocked unless a higher court overturns or modifies his ruling. DHS is appealing Cogan’s decision, meaning that this block could be lifted soon.
This lawsuit was originally filed by the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ. “We will keep fighting to make sure this decision is upheld,” said Manny Pastreich, President of SEIU 32BJ, in a statement. “We will keep fighting for the rights of our members and all immigrants against the Trump Administration – in the streets, in the workplace, and in the courts as well. And when we fight, we win.”
Immigrant rights advocates have denounced Trump’s decision to end TPS early for Haitian immigrants. “This is truly cold-blooded, even for this lawless administration. Ripping away this humanitarian relief and placing hundreds of thousands of people in danger of deportation back to a country that has been torn apart by violence, lawlessness and instability – how can they live with themselves? They know these migrants cannot safely return to Haiti,” said José Palma, spokesperson and coordinator for the National TPS Alliance. “This administration outrageously lied about Haitian immigrants in Ohio ‘eating dogs and cats.’ Now they are adding grievous injury to that insult.”
