Haitian TPS

A new survey, which comes on what may be the eve of mass deportations back to Haiti, finds Haitians see the defeat of gang rule as their priority — but while they reject amnesty for gang members, they say the restoration of security has to happen alongside meaningful investment in education and other institutions to halt Haiti's gang cycle.

As part of its crackdown on legal and illegal immigration, the Trump administration terminated TPS for about 1 million people from more than a dozen countries, including 350,000 Haitians who have been living and working legally in the U.S. since 2010.

Temporary protected status was given to Haitians after the 2010 quake because Haiti was deemed too dangerous for a safe return. In June, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end TPS.

The district, the nation's sixth-largest with 187,800 students, could see its enrollment drop given how many Haitian families in South Florida may be forced to leave to avoid deportation.

In attendance were entrepreneur Te Mayonna Brown; cultural arts leader Marshall L. Davis; Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert; state Sen. Shevrin Jones; attorney and late Congresswoman Carrie Meek’s grandson Kendrick Meek Jr.; former county Commissioner Jean Monestime; physician Rudy Moise; and attorney Roderick Vereen.

“If roughly one in five Haitian TPS holders works in healthcare occupations, as national workforce analyses indicate, as many as 35,000 healthcare workers in Florida could be affected by recent policy changes,” a July 7 letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin from FHCA Chief Executive Officer J. Emmett Reed notes.

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.

A Florida hospitality organization is asking the federal government for leeway for Haitian and Syrian workers in the industry after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling effectively ended their legal status to remain in the country.

The Democratic congresswoman said the nation's 350,000 Haitian TPS holders, including 113,000 in Florida, contribute $2.6 billion to our economy and pay more than $300 billion in state and local taxes.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians could create a caregiving crisis, lawmakers from both political parties said.

“Without TPS protections, Haitians risk being sent back to one of the world’s most devastating human rights crises,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, in releasing their report.