Thousands of immigrants from Haiti, Central America and elsewhere with temporary immigration status in the United States will not be able to become green card holders, or permanent U.S. residents, if they entered the country illegally, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The court’s unanimous decision in the case of Sanchez v. Mayorkas is a huge blow and yet another roadblock for many of the 400,000 immigrants from 12 countries who have been granted the right to temporarily live and work in the U.S. after their homelands qualified for Temporary Protected Status because of war or natural disaster.
“This is devastating news for many TPS holders and would-be TPS holders,” said Guerline Jozef, co-founder of California-based Haitian Bridge Alliance, and a leading advocate for TPS for Haitians. “It is sad to see this outcome. Obviously, those people do not understand what TPS holders have been going through and that they have been literally at the forefront of COVID-19, from healthcare workers to farm workers who are TPS holders who this decision will be affecting their lives and their families. It literally is a move backward from where we need to be. This isn’t justice.”
Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.
