U.S. to end TPS for Haitians on Sept. 2; Florida to feel brunt of Trump crackdown
Florida will feel the brunt of the June 27 Trump administration order to revoke Temporary Protected Status for half a million Haitians living in the United States as of Sept. 2, leaving them undocumented and at risk of deportation.
Over 128,000 Haitians with TPS live in Florida and have jobs in health care, hospitality, agriculture and construction, industries already facing steep labor shortages.
The Department of Homeland Security announced on June 27 that the current TPS designation for Haiti set to end on Aug. 3 will officially be terminated on Tuesday, Sept. 2.
DHS argued conditions in Haiti had improved and no longer met the conditions to grant Temporary Protected Status, which allows people from specific countries to live and work in the United States and avoid deportation.
Long troubled by poverty, political corruption and violence, Haiti is going though one of its worst moments of unrest, with gangs controlling many of the areas in the capital Port Au Prince. Most Haitians in the United States say they don't have a safe place to return to if they have to go back to the Caribbean nation, which is 750 miles from Miami.
'They are hopeless': Haitian immigrants face deportation to violence, poverty they fled
Temporary Protected Status is a humanitarian designation given to people from specific countries that are suffering from armed conflict, a natural disaster or other "extraordinary and temporary" conditions that make returning home unsafe.
President Barack Obama extended it to thousands of Haitians in the wake of the 2010 earthquake.
It allows people covered by it to live and work in the United States, but they are not considered permanent residents, nor do they have a pathway either to permanent residency or citizenship.
In order to obtain TPS, immigrants must pass a full background check and they may not have any previous felony convictions or two or more misdemeanors.
Having Temporary Protected Status allows people to get a driver's license and receive a Social Security number, a requirement to work legally in the United States, and to file taxes, but they do not have access to any federal public benefits, including Social Security benefits.
The designation prevents people from being deported to their native countries.
About one-third of all 1.1 million TPS holders live in Florida, of which 59% are Venezuelan and 35% are Haitians, according to a 2024 report by the federal government.
Many Haitian TPS holders have lived in the Sunshine State for over a decade. They have jobs as nurses in hospitals and in senior living facilities; as cooks servers and cleaning staff in restaurants in hotels; as farm workers in the fields; and as day laborer in construction sites.
Many of them are now parents to U.S.-born children. Some are homeowners and others run small businesses.
According to the DHS order, all 500,000 Haitians with TPS living in the United States would loose their legal status and their ability to work. Without TPS, they can also be deported to Haiti.
The decision is the latest blow from the Trump administration to Haitians living in the United States.
On May 30, DHS moved to end a humanitarian parole program for half a million immigrants including 210,000 Haitians. Parole is granted to people dealing with persecution or family or medical emergencies. They need a sponsor in the United States who can support them financially.
This month, Trump announced a travel ban to and from Haiti, along with several other nations.
Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: U.S. to end TPS for Haitians on Sept. 2; More than 128,000 affected
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