Supreme Court Lets Trump Administration End Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last Thursday that the Trump administration can end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians. The decision affects more than 330,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians who hold the status, according to al-monitor.com reported.

Uthy, 32, who spent seven years in medical school in Haiti before fleeing to the U.S. three years ago, now lives in Sunrise, Florida. She holds TPS and said she lives in pain every single day fearing detention or deportation.

The ruling strips work authorization and deportation relief from hundreds of thousands of similar holders. Haitian communities are concentrated in Miami, New York City and Boston areas, with additional populations in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Springfield, Ohio, population 60,000, includes more than 10,000 Haitians.

Haitian Emmanuel Baptist Church in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood provides services in English and Haitian Creole. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, said last week that people without status are supposed to be deported.

Jean Marcellin, a Haitian American restaurant owner in New York, said the community will need to provide shelter, housing and food to affected holders.

Reverend Daniel Ulysse, chair of the Haitian American Republican Caucus, stated that 10% to 15% of 60,000 Haitians in parishes across Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut hold TPS. Allen Orr, a Washington-based immigration attorney, said his office is helping clients explore asylum and other options while noting that immigration courts have become difficult terrain.