Last night, the Trump Administration announced its decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the roughly 50,000 Haitian nationals that have been living in the U.S. since the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people. The protection will terminate on July 22, 2019, giving Haitians under TPS 18 months to return to Haiti or become subject to detention and deportation. We’re joined by a local immigration specialist to find out what this means for the Haitians living and working here in Southwest Florida under TPS.
TPS allows immigrants from certain countries to live and work temporarily in the US. The Secretary of Homeland Security can designate foreign countries for TPS if there is an armed conflict or natural disaster that makes it unsafe for nationals to return. Countries that are currently covered Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua, Nepal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
TPS for Honduras and Nicaragua are currently set to expire on January 5. El Salvador March 9.
There are more than 400 thousand people living in the US with TPS. There are an estimated 44 thousand TPS recipients from Haiti, El Salvador and Honduras living in Florida.
