Haitians in South Florida living in the U.S. with Temporary Protected Status are scrambling to learn what lies in store for them after the June 25 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to strip them of their protections, leaving them undocumented and at risk of deportation.
Over 150,000 Haitians with TPS live in Florida, with the bulk of them concentrated in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. If they deport, the state’s economy stands to lose thousands of workers who are health aides, nannies, day laborers and hotel, restaurant and airport staff members.
It was unclear June 26 when Haitians with TPS would lose their protected status. Many are worried that they will be turned away from work, lose their driver’s licenses and, worst of all, be separated from their families.
“Haitians are devastated and in despair,” said Jennifer Jones, a Haitian-American leader who lives in Delray Beach. “It is really heart-wrenching that people who are simply trying to live their lives in a peaceful and legal way are stripped from that for no apparent reason.”
The decision drew a response from Bishop Manuel Rodriguez of the Diocese of Palm Beach, who called on President Trump and Congress to look for ways to treat those affected by the ruling with support and dignity.
Rodriguez said the Supreme Court’s decision had brought fear to Haitian families who have built their lives the U.S. and have raised children, paid taxes and served their communities faithfully. The diocese counts many Haitian immigrants as parishioners.
“I respectfully appeal to President Trump, his Administration, and Congress to exercise wisdom and genuine humanitarian concern,” Rodriguez wrote on Facebook. “Laws exist to serve the human person — not the reverse. To our Haitian Catholic faithful: you are not alone. Your Church, your priests, and your Bishop stand beside you.”
What is Temporary Protected Status?
Temporary Protected Status is a humanitarian designation given to people from specific countries that are suffering from armed conflict, a natural disaster or other “extraordinary and temporary” conditions that make returning home unsafe.
President Barack Obama extended it to thousands of Haitians in the wake of the 2010 earthquake, and it stayed in place amid the violence and political turmoil that have beset the Caribbean island nation.
TPS allows people to live and work in the United States, but they are not considered permanent residents, nor do they have a pathway either to permanent residency or citizenship.
In order to obtain TPS, immigrants must pass a full background check, and they may not have any previous felony convictions or two or more misdemeanors.
Having Temporary Protected Status allows people to get driver’s licenses and receive Social Security numbers, a requirement to work legally in the United States, and to file taxes, but they do not have access to any federal public benefits, including Social Security.
The designation prevents people from being deported to their native countries. The end of TPS for Haitians living in the U.S. means they could face deportation unless Congress passes a law blocking it from happening.
The U.S. House in April approved one such measure that would extend TPS protections for three years. The matter is now before the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose Broward County district includes a large Haitian population, said June 26 that she would introduce legislation requiring the courts to review the termination of TPS and allow work permits and protections to remain in place until the case is resolved.
Haitians in Florida fill jobs in service, health care industries
The Supreme Court’s ruling has rocked Haitians living in Florida as hard as the earthquake that struck the Caribbean nation they call home in 2010.
Many Haitian TPS holders have lived the U.S. for over a decade, and some of them since the earthquake. They have jobs as nurses in hospitals and in senior living facilities; as cooks, servers and cleaning staff members in restaurants and hotels; as airport staff pushing people in wheelchairs to their gates; as teachers in schools; as farm workers in the fields; and as day laborer at construction sites.
Many of them are the parents of U.S.-born children. Some are homeowners and others run small businesses.
A study by the immigration advocacy group FWD estimated Haitian TPS holders contributed $2.3 billion in federal taxes and $1.3 billion in state and local taxes in 2025. It found Florida to be the home of 93,000 Haitian TPS workers and that they paid $300 million in federal taxes and $306 million in state and local taxes.
Christopher McVoy, a Lake Worth Beach city commissioner who has taken an interest in immigration issues, said he did not understand how the U.S. could end TPS for people from Haiti when the Caribbean island nation is in a state of turmoil.
“I am confused. The U.S. State Department is still telling Americans that it is too dangerous to travel to Haiti, so how would it have suddenly become safe again for Haitians?” he said. “I join the Haitian community in praying that the U.S. Senate will promptly pass the House-approved legislation renewing TPS for them.”
Olando Saint Louis, a South Florida Haitian leader, said the termination of TPS for Haitians is a major setback for the Haitian community in Florida and across the U.S.
“You cannot just erase us as people,” Saint Louis said. “This is not the end of this fight.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Haitians scramble as deportations loom in wake of TPS ruling
Reporting by Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
