The end of humanitarian parole and TPS is shaping Michigan communities

Yahoo

06-06-2025

Anti-deportation protesters gather in Detroit, waving Mexican flags and signs in both Spanish and English, to show their opposition to border patrol activities in the area on January 26, 2025 | Photo by Erick Diaz Veliz.
On Wednesday morning, community members reported Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were making surprise arrests at an immigration check-in office in Grand Rapids where individuals were present for previously scheduled appointments, part of a larger nationwide effort by the Trump administration to restrict those with legal immigration status and deport them.
Activist groups, including GR Rapid Response to ICE and Movimiento Cosecha GR, say they quickly mobilized through social media, with members showing up outside the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office to let new arrivals who were showing up for appointments know about the ICE presence, while others entered the office to warn people waiting inside.
'People who show up for check-ins were being taken anyway. This is what we've come to. We need to do much more to help the affected community. Still, I'm hopeful that over time, the number of people helping will increase,' Ivan Diaz, a former Kent County commissioner and candidate for Michigan senate, said in a text statement.
The arrests are just the latest by federal agents in Michigan that continue to spark concern among community members and activist groups of the increasing intensity and sweep of federal actions against the immigrant community.
Restricting legal status
Since the start of the current administration, the Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, protections for immigrants and humanitarian paroles are in danger of being removed from hundreds of thousands of foreign individuals.
Christine Sauve, from the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, told Michigan Advance that it is uncertain how many members of the community across Michigan currently live under either TPS or humanitarian parole.
'There are currently 31,500 cases pending in Detroit's immigration court, and the majority of those cases involve individuals with parole. These individuals deserve to have their case heard and their day in court, especially if they fear persecution in their country of origin,' Sauve said.
On Monday, May 19, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way, at least for now, for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for 350,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the United States in 2023.
That followed a February decision by the federal government to cut similar extensions for just over half a million Haitians, leaving them vulnerable to losing their jobs and facing deportation after August.
Additionally, by the end of May, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a court order that had protected almost 500,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelans immigrants with temporary legal status through what is referred to as the CHNV program, from losing their humanitarian parole protections, exposing them to possible deportation.
In an X post, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson wrote that the decisions by the federal government are within their legal authority to revoke the temporary status granted to hundreds of thousands during the Biden Administration.
'Biden's program violated black letter immigration law, incentivized additional illegal immigration,' Jackson wrote.
Sauve did not appear hopeful about the issue being resolved in a timely manner for those facing deportation.
'During this time, current CHNV parolees will not have a legal immigration status. Individuals utilized these legal immigration pathways in good faith, and overnight they have been rendered undocumented, unable to work, and subject to deportation.' Sauve said.
Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole are two distinct immigration protection mechanisms. TPS allows qualified nationals already present in the U.S to live and work legally for a specific period, while humanitarian parole, granted on a case-by-case basis, allows certain individuals to enter or remain in the country temporarily. They are given to individuals from countries affected by armed conflict, natural disasters, or who might face persecution.
'Many individuals with parole status have fled dangerous situations in their country of origin and have pending applications for asylum or other immigration benefits that they may be eligible for,' Sauve highlighted. 'They have built lives and become part of our Michigan communities. They are our neighbors and co-workers.'
Economic consequences
Another aspect of the mass deportations promised by the federal government is the impact to Michigan's agricultural economy in which a considerable portion of the working population is undocumented.
In March, days after half a million Haitians found their TPS extension cut, a Michigan food corporation declared their operation would be significantly affected by losing such a large number of employees. Clemens Food Group in Coldwater employs around 400 Haitian TPS holders as its workforce.
According to a report by the American Immigration Council, based on 2022 data and published in 2024, TPS holders have contributed positively to Michigan industries and paid a significant amount of taxes in the U.S.
'Forcing them to leave the country not only risks putting these individuals in danger, but also threatens to significantly disrupt local economies,' the report stated.
The council says TPS holders across the state make significant contributions to both public coffers and the private economy, including earning $57.9 million in household income, which translates into $5.2 million in state and local taxes paid, $6.7 million in federal taxes paid.
'The end of TPS and parole designations is devastating for our clients and their families, but also for their families, workplaces, and communities across Michigan,' Sauve said. 'These programs are lifelines for vulnerable individuals and should not be cruelly ended prematurely, while immigration cases are still pending or conditions are still not safe for individuals to return.'
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX