Earlier this month, a federal judge paused the termination of temporary protection status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians in the U.S. The move offered some temporary stability for recipients who wish to retain work authorization and legal status while deliberations on its expiration continue.
In November, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem determined that Haiti no longer met the conditions for its designation of TPS status. On Feb. 2, the day before the status was set to expire, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes denied the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the determination. This has now paused the termination of TPS for Haitians until the Davidson, who requested to only be mentioned by his first name for safety reasons, is one of more than 45,000 Haitian TPS holders from Massachusetts. He has been under this status since 2010 and said that he felt stressed in the lead-up to the decision.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen next,” he said. “Your future is going to depend on that decision… A lot of people, they don’t have a plan B.”
Davidson, who requested to only be mentioned by his first name for safety reasons, is one of more than 45,000 Haitian TPS holders from Massachusetts. He has been under this status since 2010 and said that he felt stressed in the lead-up to the decision.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen next,” he said. “Your future is going to depend on that decision… A lot of people, they don’t have a plan B.”
TPS was originally implemented for Haitian immigrants for 18 months following a disastrous 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010. The designation has since been extended multiple times because of continuing gang violence, political unrest, and food shortages in the country.
As part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, it is attempting to reduce the number of countries that retain TPS for their citizens. In her DHS notice of termination, Noem said that there are no extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti that prevent Haitian nationals from returning safely. She stated that even if the DHS found that such conditions existed, it is “contrary to the national interest of the United States to permit” Haitian nationals to remain in the U.S.
In her 83-page ruling, Reyes said that Noem’s analysis did not include the full extent of supposed outreach to various agencies to determine Haiti’s level of safety. The U.S. Department of State currently gives a “Level 4” warning against travel to Haiti, its highest designation, stating that visiting the country poses life-threatening risks.
“That’s like a death wish for everybody that you send back, especially in its current situation,” Davidson said. “It’s not safe, especially for children that they wanted to send back with the parents. I don’t think it would be fair.”
Preistelle Aristil is a junior political communication major at Emerson College whose parents immigrated from Haiti. She said that while the situation in Haiti is beginning to “quiet down,” political unrest still exists.
“These people are seeking stability. They deserve to have a country where, even though the United States is in a mess right now, it’s way better than what it is in [Haiti],” Aristil said. “If these people need jobs or the financial opportunities here [that] exceed the opportunities in Haiti, they deserve to go and get those opportunities.”
Reyes said Noem’s decision also ignores economic considerations, which must be considered when terminating TPS. Instead, Noem “ignores altogether the billions Haitian T.P.S. holders contribute to the economy,” Reyes wrote in her decision.
Haitian TPS holders contribute nearly $6 billion annually to the U.S. economy. If their status were to be revoked, the healthcare industry estimates that Massachusetts could lose about 2,000 long-term caregivers, a position that is already one of the most understaffed in the state according to the Worcester Business Journal.
“The amount of Haitians that we have working in the medical industry, whether it’s in the hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, we actually take care of a lot of elders in Boston,” Davidson said. “This is us showing how good of a heart that we have for caring for people that we don’t really know.”
Despite their contributions, he expressed that, as a TPS recipient, he has been labeled as a criminal or illegal.
“We had the opportunity to have the TPS, to get a job and work just like everybody else, pay taxes, and contribute to the community,” he said.
Doris Landaverde is a coordinator for the Massachusetts TPS Committee, an advocacy organization dedicated to protecting TPS, providing a path to permanent residence, and educating people on the process of obtaining TPS. She said that, more recently, recipients sometimes pay more than $1,000 to renew their status.
“Every 18 months, we have to renew.They check our background, take our fingerprints. If we make a mistake, they do not approve the TPS anymore,” Landaverde said.
The hold in termination comes amid heightened fear in Haitian communities nationwide who are facing racial discrimination and increased immigration enforcement. The Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign has terminated status for 21,600 TPS holders from Afghanistan, Cameroon, and more than 300,000 Venezuelans.
The administration has also taken steps to terminate the status for more than one million people from 11 nations: Burma, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen. Leaving only four other countries, including El Salvador and Ukraine, protected under TPS ahead of the normal expiration date.
In light of the uncertainty and fear, Aristil said that Emerson should acknowledge these federal actions.
“Emerson should at least put out a statement about something with TPS or the fact that they’re standing with Haitian students,” Aristil said. She explained that although Emerson is a predominantly white institution, “people choose Emerson because it’s a sanctuary school.”
With DHS canceling TPS for millions, nonprofits are struggling to assist all impacted families. Landaverde said it is hard for immigrants to find resources in the aftermath of this decision.
“People are losing their work. People will need food. People will need a house,” she said.
Haitian TPS recipients remain in limbo amid the government’s appeal process, with no available path to legal residence. Davidson said that when deported, many TPS holders don’t have a home or even a family to return to after being gone for more than 20 years.
“What are you going to do or where are you going to go? Who are you going to contact in those kinds of situations?” Davidson said.
About the ContributorCatalina Mena, Deputy News EditorCatalina Mena (she/her) is a freshman journalism and political communications double major from Melrose, Massachusetts. When she’s not at The Beacon, Catalina can be found working with WEBN, running, eating food with her friends, or listening to Bad Bunny.
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