Haitian advocates still express cautious optimism after Venezuela TPS ruling
By Wilkine Brutus
May 2, 2025 at 10:56 AM EDT
A recent federal court ruling in San Francisco temporarily protecting Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S. is still sending ripples through immigrant communities — especially among Haitians.
With over half a million Haitians protected or eligible for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, advocates see hope — though cautiously — in a climate of uncertainty.
That cautious optimism stems from a favorable ruling in late March by Northern California District Judge Edward Chen, who paused the loss of TPS for around 350,000 Venezuelans who were set to lose their status on April 7.
Chen found that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had unlawfully reversed protections granted by the Biden administration that allow an estimated 350,000 Venezuelans to live and work in the U.S.
The Justice Department on Thursday, however, asked the high court to put on hold Chen's ruling.
TPS for Venezuelans was set to expire earlier this month. DHS officials said TPS for Haitians is to end in August.
TPS allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.
READ MORE: Floridians are getting glimpses of what aggressive immigration enforcement looks like
The Trump administration has moved aggressively to withdraw various protections that have allowed immigrants to remain in the country, including ending TPS for a total of 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians. TPS is granted in 18-month increments.
Paul Christian Namphy, lead organizer at the nonprofit Family Action Network Movement in Miami, told WLRN Chen's ruling could set a precedent.
“We believe that it's been a sigh of relief across the Haitian community,” Namphy said. “And we are watching very closely how that plays out for Venezuela."
As Namphy points out, many TPS holders — who pay taxes, own homes, and raise U.S.-born children — still lack a path to permanent residency, despite contributing over $2 billion in taxes as of 2021, according to data from the American Immigration Council.
Legislative efforts, like the Dream and Promise Act, have repeatedly failed, and Namphy said meaningful immigration reform — for now— seems out of reach.
“Despite all of these facts, we are being criminalized, we are being attacked,” said Namphy. “There are efforts to basically erase us from the narrative—and physically from this country. And we have to push back."
Congress established TPS in 1990, when civil war was raging in El Salvador. Members were alarmed to learn some Salvadorans were tortured and executed after being deported from the U.S.
Other designations protected people during wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kuwait, from genocidal violence in Rwanda, and after volcanic eruptions in Montserrat, a British territory in the Caribbean, in 1995 and 1997.
There are currently 17 countries designated as TPS, according to DHS officials.
With over half a million Haitians protected or eligible for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, advocates see hope — though cautiously — in a climate of uncertainty.
That cautious optimism stems from a favorable ruling in late March by Northern California District Judge Edward Chen, who paused the loss of TPS for around 350,000 Venezuelans who were set to lose their status on April 7.
Chen found that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had unlawfully reversed protections granted by the Biden administration that allow an estimated 350,000 Venezuelans to live and work in the U.S.
The Justice Department on Thursday, however, asked the high court to put on hold Chen's ruling.
TPS for Venezuelans was set to expire earlier this month. DHS officials said TPS for Haitians is to end in August.
TPS allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.
READ MORE: Floridians are getting glimpses of what aggressive immigration enforcement looks like
The Trump administration has moved aggressively to withdraw various protections that have allowed immigrants to remain in the country, including ending TPS for a total of 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians. TPS is granted in 18-month increments.
Paul Christian Namphy, lead organizer at the nonprofit Family Action Network Movement in Miami, told WLRN Chen's ruling could set a precedent.
“We believe that it's been a sigh of relief across the Haitian community,” Namphy said. “And we are watching very closely how that plays out for Venezuela."
As Namphy points out, many TPS holders — who pay taxes, own homes, and raise U.S.-born children — still lack a path to permanent residency, despite contributing over $2 billion in taxes as of 2021, according to data from the American Immigration Council.
Legislative efforts, like the Dream and Promise Act, have repeatedly failed, and Namphy said meaningful immigration reform — for now— seems out of reach.
“Despite all of these facts, we are being criminalized, we are being attacked,” said Namphy. “There are efforts to basically erase us from the narrative—and physically from this country. And we have to push back."
Congress established TPS in 1990, when civil war was raging in El Salvador. Members were alarmed to learn some Salvadorans were tortured and executed after being deported from the U.S.
Other designations protected people during wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kuwait, from genocidal violence in Rwanda, and after volcanic eruptions in Montserrat, a British territory in the Caribbean, in 1995 and 1997.
There are currently 17 countries designated as TPS, according to DHS officials.