Haitians Lose TPS Status July 24, AGs Make Last-Ditch Plea

A Friday deadline looms for 350,000 Haitians living in the United States under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation to lose that status after a temporary extension runs out following the U.S. Supreme Court decision last month to allow the Trump Administration to revoke TPS.

Long-term care providers stand to lose thousands of workers should the Haitians with TPS fail to get an extension or find other legal remedies to maintain their immigration status.

To head off mass deportations, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and a coalition of attorneys general on Wednesday called on Congress to extend TPS for Haitians.

In a letter dated July 22, the attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia urged the Senate to act on a bill to extend Haitian TPS through April 20, 2029.

The House has already passed the measure.

“Ending TPS status for Haitian individuals creates a crisis in our healthcare system, causing increased wait times and reducing quality of care—particularly for elderly and disabled patients,” the letter said in part.

“As an example, the Florida Health Care Association, which represents almost 90 percent of Florida’s 700 skilled nursing centers, has warned that the loss of Haitian TPS workers has the potential to ‘destabilize an already fragile long term care workforce and jeopardize access to care for countless nursing home and assisted living residents in Florida - and across the country.’”

The letter also noted that “the effects extend far beyond the healthcare industry. The National Restaurant Association, along with 12 other state restaurant and hospitality associations, have acknowledged the disruptive effects of immediately ending TPS status for Haitians on the hospitality industry.”

Extended Once

On July 10, Haitians under TPS received a two-week extension to stay in the country and continue working until July 24, pending the implementation of the Supreme Court decision to allow the Trump Administration to revoke their TPS.

The move was not unexpected and followed much discussion in the long-term sector over the fate of thousands of Haitians with TPS who work in skilled nursing and other senior care settings, as well as in the home care field.

Timeline

-              On June 25, the Supreme Court by a 6-3 vote sided with the Trump Administration and its policy to end TPS for Haitian immigrants who originally came to this country after a massive earthquake in their home country in 2010. A much smaller number of Syrians also lost their TPS status in the same ruling.

-              Less than a week later on July 1, the feds issued updated guidance extending the placeholder expiration date on Form I-9 from July 1 to July 10 for TPS holders affected by the court ruling.

-              On July 9, in the blog post by Dana Ritchie, AHCA/NCAL’s associate vice president of constituency services and workforce, said immigration attorneys believe the TPS holders can stay until July 27 when the court’s mandate is scheduled to be issued.

-              On July 10, TPS was extended to July 24, as mentioned above.

Comments or questions on this article? Email Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.