Thousands of Haitians in New York who have been living and working in the city are set to have their immigration status soon upended.
The Supreme Court in June limited challenges to the Trump administration’s ability to revoke what’s know as Temporary Protected Status, in cases involving Haitians and Syrians.
Stephanie Delia, an attorney, has been waiting for the word that this protection would officially end for Haitians after Monday.
“It is the lack of clarity about how that will be done. Nobody knows when, nobody knows how soon, and so there’s been a lot of uncertainty,” Delia, the incoming president of the Haitian American Lawyers Association of New York, told NY1.
Delia shared the guidance she has been offering Haitians who had been living under TPS.
“Use this time to prepare. When I say prepare, I mean, specifically think of four areas: your children, your money, your legal documents, and an emergency plan,” she said.
There are about 350,000 Haitians living in the U.S. with TPS, including 5,400 of them in New York City.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani implored foreign nationals to connect with city officials.
“We are going to be standing up for these communities, and we have instructed our Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs to continue to connect families to free and confidential legal help,” Mamdani said.
The Trump administration argues Temporary Protected Status is supposed to be temporary, while immigration advocates say countries, like Haiti, are too dangerous for a return home.
A spokesperson for Homeland Security said in a statement, “It’s closing time, which means you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. The good news is, it’s not too late to get a $2,600 check and a free flight home.”
The Supreme Court ruling held that judges are unable to review the administration’s decisions revoking TPS, but left it possible to hear cases on constitutional grounds.
That is allowing a group of Yemenis to continue litigation in Manhattan federal court, even as protections for them are over.
Time matters, said Razeen Zaman, Immigrant Rights director for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, which is involved in the litigation over Yemeni nationals who had been living in the U.S. under TPS.
“Every single day that a Yemeni TPS holder is without protection is a day where something devastating might happen to them, particularly in light of the fact that they are facing deportation to a country where they may never be allowed to return to the United States because of the travel ban,” Zaman said.
