Immigration: The Future For Foreigners With Temporary Protected Status

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0:31At the end of June, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the federal government can end temporary protected status for more than 300 ,000 Haitians and 6 ,000 Syrians living legally in the United States. Today, a look at what that decision means for Haitians in the U.S. TPS is a program that allows people from designated countries experiencing crises like natural disasters or civil war to live and work legally in the U.S. Some Haitian TPS recipients have been in the U.S. for 16 years. They work in hospitals, warehouses, and factories nationwide. In Springfield, Ohio, they make up nearly a fifth of the city's population.

1:10But their status could end as soon as late July, and removal proceedings could start soon after. Here's Ohio Governor Republican Mike DeWine on CNN last week. It's Haitians who many times are taking care of your mom or your dad who has Alzheimer's, taking care of family members who might be in a nursing home. And to say we're going to pull all of those out, it's just not in our own self-interest. What is next for Haitian TPS holders and their families? And what about the communities and jobs they leave behind? Later in the show, we talk about what this means in Haiti, where more than one and a half million people have been displaced by violence.

1:48This week marks five years since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated, throwing the country into turmoil. I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A Podcast. Today, how prepared is Haiti to receive returnees? We'll be back with that answer and more after this short break.

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2:49That's right. I'm talking about stories that make you miss appointments. This American Life, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the 1A podcast. we're discussing the Supreme Court's decision that allows the federal government to end temporary protected status for more than 300 ,000 Haitians and 6 ,000 Syrians living legally in the U.S. Joining us from Cincinnati is national reporter for the 19th News, Amanda Becker. She was just in Springfield, Ohio, speaking to members of the city's large Haitian community about the fallout of the Supreme Court decision. Amanda, welcome back to the program.

3:25Great to be here. And Gurleen Joseph is co-founder and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance in San Diego. That's a nonprofit that supports and advocates for Haitian and Black immigrants to the United States. Gurleen, welcome back. Thank you for having me. Now, the Supreme Court ruling did not immediately end TPS. What happens now practically for the 330 ,000 Haitians with temporary protected status? Amanda, do we know what that timeline looks like? No. So it's up in the air to some degree. People are expecting maybe about 30 days. What happened after the Supreme Court's decision was that it goes back to the lower court for implementation procedures and guidance.

4:04We are still waiting for that. Of course, the Department of Homeland Security and the administration is pushing for a, you know, kind of speedy resolution to that timeline. of a lot of people on TPS and the people in the community of Springfield helping them are hoping that, you know, it takes as long as possible to get that implementation guidance. But everyone is, again, operating in a real gray area in terms of timing. Garleen, President Trump has made no secret of his desire to end TPS for Haitians. And he and his cabinet have used racist language. They've spread misinformation about these communities.

4:38But what was your reaction to the Supreme Court's ruling? It really felt as if the rug was pulled from under the community. As I was getting out of the plane heading to the Supreme Court, when I received the news, I had to stop to be able to try to catch my breath. because I knew exactly what that meant for the hundreds of thousands of people we have been blessed to support and to be able to really try to understand what that means, not only for the community, but for the United States and for Haiti both, how that will impact families and children who will be ripped away from their parents, what that will look for the medical industry, for the meatpacking and other industries that are relying on immigrants, specifically on Haitian TPS holders for the daily operations?

5:35What does that mean for a world where we are heading into 250th anniversary of this United States of ours, yet at the same time we see anti-Black racism and white supremacist ideology continued to be the guiding norm and really was painful. And as some of the community members described it, it felt as if it was, we were once again in the earthquake and we kept on going through aftershocks. So it was painful. It continues to be painful. It is fearful. And the community is traumatized and we literally are living in the space of terror. not knowing what tomorrow will bring. One thing Amanda mentioned that I want to highlight for people who are listening, yes, we normally have 32 days, you know, to really understand, but the government is pushing for a speedy start of revocation of work permit as soon as July 10th.

6:43They're not even willing to allow people to go through due process as normally happens, you know, in the course of what we are dealing with. So to see the cruelty, the inhumanity, the lack of compassion in the deep, deep, deeply rooted anti-Black racism towards Black immigrants, especially Haitians, is just mind boggling. Well, Amanda, you were just in Springfield, Ohio. Again, this is a city with a large population of Haitian TPS holders. You've done extensive reporting from that city. How are people there preparing for the official end of TPS for Haitians? To be quite candid, they're preparing for a massive humanitarian crisis.

7:28The city is only about 60 ,000 overall. As many as 12 ,000 Haitians are living in the area. They started coming kind of in larger numbers around 2016, and then it picked up kind of a year or two into COVID. There are at least a couple thousand children who are U.S. citizens who were born to Haitian parents here, either on TPS or asylum in some cases. The future of those children and what will happen to them if for some reason their parents are picked up when they're not with them is unclear. There are only about 17 licensed foster families in the entire county where Springfield is, Clark County.

8:09There's not a single shelter in Springfield at this current moment. So they are preparing food boxes. They're preparing boxes of hygiene items. They're preparing to deliver these to people who do not feel comfortable coming out to get them themselves. A lot of people have already lost the ability to work, even though their work permits are technically still in place for another couple days, as Gurleyan just said. employers don't like the uncertainty of potentially, you know, having a segment of their workforce unable to work overnight. Gurleen, what steps are you advising TPS holders to take right now?

8:52One example that I can share is that we normally have a community engagement where we have about 400 people come, beautiful children. and we do legal service, we provide legal service. We have medical checkup with our partners. And at the end, we have diapers and food that they can take home. And one of the things we started telling people since after the elections in 2024, because to be honest with you, when we saw the narrative that was coming out of the president and the vice president, we knew the community was in danger. We knew the promise that they made in 2016 when they came to the community, especially President Trump, telling the community he was going to be the Haitian community's biggest advocate.

9:42But the moment he became president, he started being this extremely vile person when he attacked the Haitian community. So what we started to do in 2024 was creating family plan and explaining to people they need to be ready in case something like this were to happen. Who's going to take care of their children? Make sure they have an attorney, a reputable attorney who's able to give them legal advice and represent them in case they were detained for deportation. So we really are asking folks to take measures to prepare themselves for what could be a catastrophic event if they actually do start detaining people and put them in immigration prisons and potentially deporting them.

10:31Who's going to take care of those families? Well, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, has been outspoken in his opposition to this ruling from the Supreme Court. It is not in the United States' interest, certainly not in Ohio's interest, to have people who are working every single day, who are supporting a family, who are buying houses, fixing up old houses, starting businesses, and then put deep roots in this country and really are contributing and yank them out. Amanda, take us into the political discussion right now in Ohio about what this means for a place like Springfield, but the state more broadly.

11:11Yeah, so there are a lot of people waiting to see what Governor DeWine will do. He is in close contact with organizations in Springfield who are assisting and helping the Haitian immigrants there. But, you know, there are things that would be under his power to do. For example, people are worried about police in local jurisdictions or the state police using traffic stops as a way to kind of pursue immigration enforcement. The governor could offer guidance to the state police and local police departments in that capacity. That hasn't happened yet. Actually, it was just this week that a lot of their temporary driver's licenses expired.

11:50So, you know, that is just one way in which the governor could become more involved in the coming days. We're talking to Amanda Becker. She's national reporter for the 19th News. Also with us, Gurleen Joseph, co-founder and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance. And we're hearing from you. Here's a voicemail from Gordon in Haiti. The cancellation of TPS is only going to cause hardship, not only to Haitian and others who are here under TPS, but it's going to cause economic bright upon many, many small businesses and the health industry. Coming up, the economic impact of this decision, and we hear from one TPS recipient about her future now that her status is in flux.

12:38That's just ahead.

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13:32You've got a lot of ways to get news and a lot of podcasts in your feed that take a long time to get to the point. Here and Now Anytime gets to the heart of the day's big story all in about 20 minutes every afternoon. Get smarter and expand your world fast. Listen to Here and Now anytime on the NPR app or wherever you listen to podcasts. Let's get back into the conversation. We're talking this hour about the end of temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of recipients from Haiti. TPS is the program created by Congress in 1990 that allows people from designated countries that are in crisis to live and work legally in the U.S.

14:13on a temporary basis. And let's bring in a new voice now. Elizabeth Bellevue is a 28-year-old TPS holder from Georgia. She was born in Haiti but has lived in the U.S. since 1998, when her parents brought her here for open-heart surgery to address a heart defect. Her parents were initially on diplomatic visas, but when her mother was asked to return to Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake, the family applied for TPS. Elizabeth went on to college and graduate school in the U.S. and works in public relations with plans to attend business school. She has two American-born siblings. Now the Trump administration's move to end TPS has put her life in limbo.

14:50Elizabeth, welcome to the program. Yes, thank you so much. So when the Supreme Court ruling came down, what went through your mind? So honestly, I was speechless. Of course, you know, we knew that the ruling could go any which way. Um, but you know, when I, I initially, I think I was on, you know, scrolling on social media or something and I saw a headline and I immediately went to Google and, and Googled what this, what this really meant. Um, but I will say initially I was just speechless. Like I, I honestly didn't have any words. I sat on my couch just, you know, staring, you know, basically at my wall, just thinking about all of the different things that could potentially happen, you know, following this ruling.

15:50So what options are available to you now? Yes, that's a good question. So I won't, you know, go into too much detail, but right now my employer is actually sponsoring visas for me, which we have been in the process of doing, you know, since 2024. and you can imagine with the administration coming in in 2024 and then 2025, early 2025, all of the limbo that TPS has been under. I've been just waiting for an approval, for a wait to continue working legally in this country. So as of right now, I'm just getting the support of my employers with their sponsorship. As you think about the future, what does life look like for you if you can't find a means to stay in the U.S., considering conditions on the ground in Haiti?

17:00Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So, you know, I've done a lot of research into, you know, what this would mean for me and my family as well. Both of my parents are also on TPS. but you know from what I've seen in my research being as though I do have a current case within USCIS right now I guess that kind of grants me some type of relief as far as staying within the United States for the particular visa that I am applying for again I won't go into detail, I don't have the option of going out of the United States because I am doing an adjustment of status, which requires me to remain in the United States since I've already been here.

17:52So as far as my future goes, I think, I don't know if this is cliche, but I am a woman of faith. I grew up in the church. I grew up believing in God. So for me, I'm just leaving my future in God's hands at this point. I've done everything that I need to do legally to ensure that I'm remaining in the country legally and working legally. So really, it's in God's hands. and unfortunately it's also in the government's hands because the ball is clearly in their court right now. So my future is in God's hands and I am thinking about what that really looks like as I start business school next month. So it's a lot in the air right now.

18:47You've been here since you were a small child. Did you ever imagine returning to Haiti? Honestly, no. You know, growing up, I've never, you know, as a child, I never really went back to Haiti to visit all of my family members who are out there. I've, you know, just communicated with them through the phone or WhatsApp. My life is in the United States. I've matriculated through grade school here. I've done middle school, high school, and as you said, college and graduate school. So all I know is the United States of America. I've built a career here. That was always the plan for me to see. Of course, when I was younger, I didn't fully understand what the implications of my immigration status really meant for me.

19:42But as I'm 28 now, I'm turning 29 next month, and I have a greater understanding of what this really means. So I'd never imagined that. I wasn't even thinking about that as a child. I just recently started thinking about this in the past five years as I'm venturing off into my own life. So the plan was always to go to college as a first-generation college graduate, establish my career, which I have done. So no, I've never really imagined that until just recently. You've been working on securing permanent residency for some time now, but at this point, you're living with a great deal of uncertainty.

20:28How are you navigating not really knowing what happens for you in the long term? Yeah, honestly, I would say the support of my community and just being resilient. We know that the Haitian community is one of resilience. Our ancestry, our history is built on resilience. So for me, it's really just about persevering through this all and just really, you know, seeing what comes out of this, you know, lower court decision that's upcoming. Of course, you know, we're praying for a positive outcome, but also we must prepare for, you know, God forbid, a negative outcome. So right now I'm just finding solace in my community, my family, and my employer has been very supportive of me during this time and very understanding during this time.

21:29So really just leaning into my village and my community for support, which is very important to me. So that's really how I'm navigating this is through resilience and perseverance because that's all I can do. That's Elizabeth Bellevue. She's a TPS holder born in Haiti who grew up in the US. Elizabeth, we'd love to check back in with you as your story unfolds. Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much. Thank you. Still with us to talk more about the end of TPS for Haitians in the U.S. is Gurleen Yosef. She's co-founder and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance and Amanda Becker, national reporter for the 19th News.

22:06We got this question from Kevin in Rochester who writes, TPS refers to temporary protected status. At the beginning of the show, it was mentioned that some recipients have been on the program for up to 16 years. Is there a disconnect between the intent of the program and how it is used? Amanda, what can you tell us? Well, the intent of the program was to protect people who were from countries where it was unsafe to be there or to go back there. And so if you're going by, you know, the definition of the reason why the program was created, conditions in Haiti are worse now than they were when the program was created.

22:43And many of these people started coming to the United States. So while temporary is yes in the name, it also was, you know, pegged to kind of this review of safety conditions in their home country. Many of the Haitians in Springfield have very legitimate fears that going back to Haiti right now is a death sentence for them, either because of the gangs controlling large portions of the country, because government services have essentially shut down. There are sanitation issues. People are unable to get medical care right now in Haiti. So, you know, this is a life or death situation for a lot of people, and that's exactly what the TPS program was designed to deal with.

23:26And we'll talk more about what's happening on the ground in Haiti a little later in the show, but we should note here that the State Department has designated Haiti a no-travel area for the U.S., the highest level of travel warning. Earlier in the show, we heard from a listener, Gordon, in Haiti about the potential economic impact of the Supreme Court ruling on businesses and industries that employ TBS holders. Hundreds of thousands of TPS recipients work in industries with labor shortages like agriculture, hospitality, and health care, and in communities with declining populations like Springfield, Ohio.

24:00So, Amanda, what is Springfield saying about the potential loss of Haitians on TPS status, the impact on their communities and businesses? Yeah. So, I mean, if we're talking about like the city in terms of the city leadership, that is a huge topic of discussion and has been for the past, you know, since Donald Trump was reelected president because they knew this program would likely come to an end at some point in his second presidency. And so there are employers that have come to Springfield. There are employers that have expanded in Springfield because they had a reliable base of workers who they could bring in.

24:39Now, in Springfield, I know in other areas of the country, Haitian people on TPS, a lot of them work in health care settings. There are some working in health care in Springfield. That's not the majority. We're talking about auto part manufacturers, Amazon distribution warehouses. And so this could have wide-ranging economic impacts on employers there. There are already situations where employers have reconsidered, you know, expanding or moving into the area because of already the uncertainty created by the legal challenge to TPS. We're also hearing from you, Jay, in Baltimore, right? something that has not been covered in the news is what happens when all these taxpaying people are kicked out of the U.S.

25:24Many were paying into Social Security, which covers the benefits of current retirees. And Jay, a former DHS immigration economist, writes that returning TPS recipients, quote, significantly harms the U.S. economy. This cuts GDP by shrinking the labor force and overall demand and boosts inflation via a tighter labor market. Studies show that if immigrant construction workers are deported. This results in canceled projects and layoffs of U.S.-born skilled workers, such as electricians and carpenters, who were working with these construction workers. These deportations are another self-inflicted injury to Americans' economic well-being.

26:00Well, as we said, tens of thousands of Haitian TPS holders work in hard-to - field jobs as nursing assistants and caregivers. That's according to an analysis by FWD, an organization that advocates for immigration reform. We reached out to several health care associations and businesses for comment. Here's Tom Quatrochi. He's president and CEO of the Health Care Association of New York State. It represents not-for-profit in public hospitals, health systems, and nursing homes throughout New York State. Haitian immigrants and many other foreign trained health care workers are filling essential roles, obviously, in our hospitals, nursing homes, community and health care settings.

26:36This Supreme Court decision is very disappointing. I'm feared it'll do great harm to our health care system. We also heard from Colin O 'Leary, the executive director of Laurel Ridge Rehabilitation and Skilled Care Center in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. Ending TPS is allowing years of knowledge, companionship, and partnership walk out of our door. Those years of experience equate to knowledge that improves the health, safety, and daily lives of our residents. Knowing how to get a resident with dementia to eat a little more, identifying the early signs of a breathing issue that can prevent the hospitalization, and most importantly, a feeling of peace and safety the residents and family members feel that takes years to develop.

27:18All of that will end when TPS employees have to leave our building. Gurleen, just help us better understand briefly how big of a role Haitian TPS holders play in the U.S. economy. Thank you so much for that question. Understanding that the workforce is what keeps the United States moving and paying into things like Social Security and their taxes over six billion dollars right so we are seeing the impact within the U.S. economy and we are seeing the dismantling of the workforce right now as you heard from those executives we depend on those people for the care and the love, the companionship, and providing dignified services to aging populations and children in other industries.