About 350,000 Haitian TPS Holders get last-minute reprieve: work permits extended to July 24
By Sergio R. Bustos
July 10, 2026 at 8:29 PM EDT
Hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, got a short reprieve from the Trump administration on Friday: their work permits got extended to July 24.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the work permit extension on Friday, the same day it was supposed to expire for 350,000 Haitian TPS holders nationwide, including more than nationwide was set to expire on Friday.
Florida is home to 113,000 Haitian TPS holders, the most of any state.
TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters, civil strife and other instability. It allows people already in the country to stay with work permits in increments of up to 18 months, but it does not provide a path to citizenship.
READ MORE: Florida's hospitality industry seeks transition period for TPS workers
Haitians were first granted TPS in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake and extended them multiple times amid ongoing gang violence that has displaced more than a million people, according to court documents.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision last month, allowed the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria through TPS, exposing hundreds of thousands of immigrants to potential deportation.
The USCIS extension of work permits came the same day a prominent hospitality labor union in South Florida protested the termination of TPS for Haitians at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The Sun-Sentinel reported Friday that some airport workers with TPS were already dismissed from their jobs.
“We are going to talk to employers about what the change means,” said Wendi Walsh, secretary-treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 355. “They jumped the gun to terminate people when they don’t have to be doing that.”
Economic fallout
Leaders with UNITE HERE Local 355, which represents thousands of service sector workers, said they are "enraged and heartbroken for the families and children who will lose their right to live and work here and be thrust into poverty and precarity."
"[The Supreme Court decision] is an insult to the hundreds of thousands of Haitian workers who currently hold legal status, have registered with the government, and passed background checks."
Union leaders warned the high court's decision will cause severe economic fallout for the service industry in South Florida.
"Haitian TPS holders alone add nearly $6 billion to the economy every year and do essential work in hotels, restaurants, gaming, and food service," the union leaders said in a statement.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the work permit extension on Friday, the same day it was supposed to expire for 350,000 Haitian TPS holders nationwide, including more than nationwide was set to expire on Friday.
Florida is home to 113,000 Haitian TPS holders, the most of any state.
TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters, civil strife and other instability. It allows people already in the country to stay with work permits in increments of up to 18 months, but it does not provide a path to citizenship.
READ MORE: Florida's hospitality industry seeks transition period for TPS workers
Haitians were first granted TPS in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake and extended them multiple times amid ongoing gang violence that has displaced more than a million people, according to court documents.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision last month, allowed the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria through TPS, exposing hundreds of thousands of immigrants to potential deportation.
The USCIS extension of work permits came the same day a prominent hospitality labor union in South Florida protested the termination of TPS for Haitians at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The Sun-Sentinel reported Friday that some airport workers with TPS were already dismissed from their jobs.
“We are going to talk to employers about what the change means,” said Wendi Walsh, secretary-treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 355. “They jumped the gun to terminate people when they don’t have to be doing that.”
Economic fallout
Leaders with UNITE HERE Local 355, which represents thousands of service sector workers, said they are "enraged and heartbroken for the families and children who will lose their right to live and work here and be thrust into poverty and precarity."
"[The Supreme Court decision] is an insult to the hundreds of thousands of Haitian workers who currently hold legal status, have registered with the government, and passed background checks."
Union leaders warned the high court's decision will cause severe economic fallout for the service industry in South Florida.
"Haitian TPS holders alone add nearly $6 billion to the economy every year and do essential work in hotels, restaurants, gaming, and food service," the union leaders said in a statement.