In South Florida, home to the nation’s largest Haitian community, the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Thursday allowing President Donald Trump to go ahead and end Temporary Protective Status hit like a bomb. Within hours, the community wrestled with what it meant.
Could it mean, for some, certain death if they are deported back to the Caribbean nation that has devolved into what human rights groups have called violent criminal anarchy?
Would it mean a large federal immigration enforcement effort like what was seen in Minneapolis in 2025 that led to fatal shootings of two American citizens?
What would be the economic impact given that The Haitian community is interwoven into the Florida economy: landscaping, senior care and restaurants, among others.
“Your grandma that’s in Florida that’s being taken care of by a health aid person, most of them are TPS people. Who’s going to take care of grandma now?” asked Byrnes Guillaume, a Haitian-American immigration attorney in West Palm Beach.
The Department of Homeland Security announced in November 2025 that Haiti no longer meets the criteria for TPS, a federal program that grants legal status if the subject’s home country is unsafe because of ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters or extraordinary conditions.
There are up to 1.5 million people of Haitian ancestry currently living in the U.S with Florida having the largest population [508,000], followed by New York [187,000] and Massachusetts [87,000]. The city of North Miami alone has a Haitian population of 31%. New York City has the most Haitian residents.
“It’s deeply concerning,” said North Miami Mayor Alix Desulme. “The ending of TPS will have a profound impact on thousands of families who have built their lives here. We have one of the largest Haitian communities in the nation and we’ve seen the contribution of these TPS recipients.”
Trump administration TPS cancellation could mean significant revenue loss for U.S. economy
Haitian TPS holders, it has been estimated by advocacy groups, contribute $5.9 billion to the U.S. economy annually.
U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y, said Haitians meet the criteria of TPS. “Haiti is a humanitarian and political disaster and continues to warrant an extension,” he wrote on the social media platform X. “Immediately shutting off TPS will create a crisis in our hospitals, nursing homes.”
He called on the U.S. Senate to take up the issue and extend Haitian TPS to address these issues. The Supreme Court’s decision also allows the Trump administration to end TPS protections for Syrians in the U.S.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Marleine Bastien, who also works with Haitian advocacy group, the Family Action Network Movement, said the effort now will be to lobby lawmakers in Washington D.C., for relief, calling the Supreme Court’s decision “incomprehensible.”
“We need Congress to act now,” Bastien said. “The workforce will take a big blow as a result of this decision, we need bipartisan legislation to extend TPS.”
The bedrock for Haitian TPS came in January 2010 when President Barrack Obama’s administration issued the initial designation following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake leveled Port-au-Prince and killed more than 100,000. Since then Haiti has descended in political chaos and the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Armed criminal coalitions have seized major transit routes.
“If I had to go back home it would be concerning for me,” Desulme said. “That would be a death sentence to someone if they are forced to go.”
In America, there is an estimated 350,000 Haitians who are currently in the U.S. under TPS, with over 200,000 actively in the workforce. There is an estimated 150,000 Haitians living in South Florida through TPS.
“It will affect the economy here in South Florida and it’s the unintended consequences, and it’s the human casualty,” Guillaume said. “It will turn these law-abiding, tax-paying people — well, now they have to go into the shadows.”
Bastien added for Haitian-Americans with TPS, “It is a life-and-death situation. It is a sad day for Haitian-American communities.”
Trump administration TPS cancellation has been building since 2025
Florida State Rep. Rob Long, D-Boynton Beach, has a large Haitian population in his district. He said he feared an immigration enforcement action similar to what Minneapolis saw in 2025 but directed at Haitians. Many local law enforcement agencies have signed agreements to assisted federal authorities.
“I don’t see TPS recipients as political talking points — I see families who have built lives in our community, contribute to our economy, and are living with tremendous uncertainty. Haiti is still facing an unprecedented humanitarian and security crisis.”
Haitians have been a target of Trump, who in September 2024 made the baseless claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were abducting and eating local residents’ pets. In the Supreme Court decision, written by Justice Samuel Alito, rejected claims that the Trump administration termination of Haitian TPS was driven by racial animus.
The administration officially announced the decision to end Haitian TPS in November 2025 when then Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem determined the country no longer met the program’s required emergency criteria.
Guillaume said Trump targets vulnerable communities because “he understand that’s where he gets traction” with his Make America Great Again base.
David Jolly, a Democrat running for Florida governor, said TPS is designed for people who fled violence, instability and danger.
“In Florida, our large Haitian community plays a major role in our economy, our communities, and our cultural vibrancy,” he posted on X. “To send Haitians or Syrians back to the violent conditions they fled would be cruel, dangerous, and deeply wrong. This kind of brutality, done in our name, is unconscionable and a contradiction of the American way.”
John Pacenti is the Government Impact Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
(This story has been updated with Miami-Dade Commissioner Bastien’s comments)
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida’s Haitians will bear brunt of Supreme Court decision ending TPS
Reporting by John Pacenti, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By John Pacenti, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
