‘People are scared,’ Salisbury residents react to revoked Haiti Temporary Protected Status

Salisbury, Md. – Thousands of community members are reeling after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision to remove the Temporary Protected Status of Haitian and Syrian immigrants on June 25.

According to Pedro Alemán-Perfecto, a DOJ-accredited with CLINIC, 1.5 million nationwide have TPS, and 350,000 of those are Haitian.

TPS holders come from countries that meet one of three conditions: ongoing armed conflict, severe natural disasters or other extraordinary temporary conditions like political strife or other dangerous situations.

“Folks who … might not qualify for asylum or any other type of humanitarian relief, they can possibly qualify for TPS because it’s part of the statute,” Alemán-Perfecto said. “It was created by Congress, where the Department of Homeland Security can designate a country.”

Community members in Salisbury say the loss of the status feels like being caught between a rock and a hard place.

“It feels like rejection,” said Wicomico County Human Rights Advisory Committee Chair Natalie Saint-Phard who is Haitian-American and who also serves as a Haitian Creole translator.

“I have some family members who go shopping at night, who go do the laundry at night because they know, nighttime, maybe ICE is not around,” Eddline Petion said. Petion is the program coordinator for Rebirth in Salisbury. “So people are really scared, and mentally they’re not there. They’re very sick. It’s affecting them mentally.”

Those that WMDT spoke with said they are fearful for the safety of their friends and family members, as many families have members affected by this change and others who are not.

However, one young lady said she holds onto hope, even in the darkest of times.

“Because in the dark there is always, even small, there is always a light,” she said. Though she is not directly impacted by the change in TPS, she wanted to remain anonymous out of fear for the safety of her family and friends.