Court confirms Haitian Temporary Protected Status revocation

Salisbury, Md. – On Wednesday, a federal district judge upheld the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to revoke the Temporary Protected Status of Haitians and Syrians nationwide.

The announcement comes after a high court reversed an earlier decision that would have impeded the Trump Administration’s decision to end the program. The stay of the effective date of July 27, which DHS had designated, is no longer in effect, effectively revoking work permits for thousands of immigrants.

After the Supreme Court upheld the decision to remove their temporary protected status in June, community members have sounded the alarm about possible impacts on Delmarva’s economy.

Now that Haitian TPS is terminated, many are worried about what it will mean for thousands of residents who have lived and worked in the region for years, and in some cases, decades.

Amy Liebman, the chief program officer at Migrant Clinicians Network, says they are hearing concerns from poultry industry representatives over how it might impact the industries that have historically relied on immigrant labor.

“We could be eliminating between 15% and 20% of the workforce overnight,” she said.

Immigration attorneys say the loss of work permits won’t stop former TPS workers from working; it will only make it more dangerous.

“We’re going to see a lot more people working under the table,” Viviana Westbrook said. Westbrook is a state and local advocacy attorney at Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC). “When they start going underground doing this work, there are much fewer protections, right? We see more violations from employers. There are a lot of labor concerns that arise.”

Rep. Andy Harris (R – Congressional District 1) stressed that while TPS is temporary, it’s still important to facilitate pathways to visas that enable immigrants to contribute to the local economy.

“I’ve been a champion of the H-2B visas. Obviously, those are the seasonal visas that are so important to many businesses on the Eastern Shore, especially the lower shore in Ocean City,” he said in an interview with WMDT. “We have to be mindful of the fact that there are workers in many industries who depended on these, and we should … expand the use of other visas so that we have temporary foreign workers when we need them.”

However, both Westbrook and Liebman said any future legislation needs to make sure that workers left in extremely vulnerable positions can be protected against exploitation.

“Keeping a workforce tied to one employer without that kind of freedom is potentially dangerous,” Liebman said.

She cited the example of cases of slavery uncovered by the Department of Justice in 2021 when employers used victims of human trafficking to work on South Georgia farms.

“So, whatever program gets in place, and I think we can all agree, regardless of what side of the aisle you are on, that our immigration system needs improvement,” Liebman said. “But we have to look at it through the lens of human rights and the ability for our immigrant community to work with respect and dignity.”

For members of the community, the termination feels like rejection.

“These are people who are willing to contribute, who have contributed,” Natalie Saint-Phard said in an interview with WMDT. Saint-Phard is Haitian-American and the chair of the Salisbury Human Rights Advisory Committee. She said many TPS holders have contributed to the U.S. pension system and paid taxes without being able to access any benefits.

“Now, after years of doing this, years of contributing to our different systems and organizations here in the U.S., they’re being told to get out. ‘We don’t want you,'” she said.

Eddine Petion is the program coordinator at Rebirth, a nonprofit that advocates and facilitates resources for vulnerable and immigrant workers on Delmarva and works closely with the local Haitian population.

“They contribute to the economy; they don’t come in for only government benefits,” Petion said. “They pay taxes, they work very hard. They are very good people, they did their best, and they’re always going to be great. They’re always going to be great people.”

Petion said she hopes the Haitian community is seen for the hardworking people that they are.

“We deserve to live. Treat people as human no matter what,” Eddine Petion said.