Parole/TPS timeline, updates
Many Haitian immigrants have been in the United States legally under a federal humanitarian parole program for people whose home countries are unsafe. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump’s administration said those protections would end April 24. But a federal judge in Boston delayed that action while a court case challenging the move was underway.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court sent the court case about the overall humanitarian parole program back to the federal court, but said in the meantime, protections for the 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela were ended.
That means Haitians and others who have been in the country legally could now be subject to deportation proceedings, even while the overall court case about the legality of Trump’s move is being decided.
Biassu Pierre, community organizer with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), told the News-Sun that practically all day, every day he gets calls from Springfield Haitians asking what will happen to them when immigration policy changes. In particular, he gets a lot of questions about what will happen once their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) expires.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The Trump administration also moved to accelerate the end of that program. Temporary Protected Status had been extended until February 2026 under the Biden administration, but Trump moved the expiration date up to Aug. 3.
There are legal challenges to that action as well. A federal judge in New York heard oral arguments Wednesday in a court challenge by the Haitian Evangelical Clergy Association and others, on whether Trump can shorten that TPS extension. Judge Brian Cogan’s decision could come this week.
Another Supreme Court ruling from earlier this year says the government can no longer summarily deport people, as happened with a group sent to El Salvador. That should mean anyone identified for possible deportation as a result of these changes will at least have some due process protections, especially if they have pending applications for asylum or other protections.
Local supporters’ reaction
The immigration system is a “confusing landscape” with multiple types of status making it difficult for employers to know who they can employ and difficult for immigrants to “go about their daily lives,” the Rev. Michelle Boomgaard, with Springfield Neighbors United, told the News-Sun.
Boomgaard criticized efforts to characterize Haitian immigrants in the country on parole as being here illegally.
“Most of the folks that we know have been here, have been following all the guidelines they applied to be here under, whatever status they have,” Boomgaard said. “[They] have been working to get work permits, have been working to get jobs, have been working to settle and integrate.”
Many immigrants with no other status beyond parole have been trying to obtain another status without progress, Boomgaard said.
“People are trying to follow the laws, to follow pathways that were set out for them and all those rugs are being pulled out from under them without very clear options for what to do,” Boomgaard said. “At Springfield Neighbors United we believe that a caring majority really doesn’t want to see our community ripped apart like this.”
“These are our neighbors, these are kids who’ve been going to school and joining the choir and the band and the sports teams, neighbors that are being part of the community, starting small businesses and stuff like that, and we’re losing all of that again,” Boomgaard said.
Workers in Springfield
Haitians are afraid of losing their work permits and therefore their ability to support themselves and their families, Dorsainvil said. This includes family in Haiti, to which many in Springfield send money.
These funds are often all that is keeping their family out of emergency temporary shelters in Haiti.
“Sometimes the shelters, they are not really safe, because they can be invaded by the gangsters at any time,” Dorsainvil said.
Immigrants currently in the U.S. under a parole program may still be able to work if they have not received notice of their work permit being terminated, Katie Kersh, senior attorney with ABLE, said.
But Pierre said he has heard from many people who have lost jobs because of status changes.
When protected statuses end, immigration officials typically give people a “grace period” to voluntarily leave the country, rather than immediately being deported, Kersh said. She said she doesn’t know if that will be the case in Springfield.
Local immigration enforcement has been more focused on people who already have orders of removal, but that could change at any time, Kersh said.
Pierre said Haitians are feeling “frustrated” and lost.
“All they are asking is a place to live and to live in peace,” Pierre said.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Haiti fights extreme violence, poverty
Haitians do not have a safe country to go back to, having made a “horrifying journey” to find a place to live in peace, Boomgaard said.
The U.S. State Department under Trump makes plain on its website just how unsafe Haiti is, saying that police lack the resources to respond to emergencies, that shortages of gasoline, electricity and medical supplies are common, and that hospitals often lack trained staff and basic resources. Other State Department advisories say:
* Crimes involving firearms are common in Haiti. They include robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, and kidnappings for ransom. Kidnapping is widespread and sometimes random.
* Mob killings and assaults by the public have increased, including targeting those suspected of committing crimes.
* The airport in Port-au-Prince can be a focal point for armed activity. Armed robberies are common. Carjackers attack private vehicles stuck in traffic. They often target lone drivers, especially women.
According to the State Department, U.S. government personnel in Haiti are prohibited from traveling anywhere after dark. The agency gives tips to anyone traveling to Haiti — “If you are being followed as you leave the airport, drive to the nearest police station immediately. ... Do not fight back during a robbery. It increases the risk of violence and injury to you. ... Purchase travel insurance with medical evacuation coverage ahead of time.”
Question of life or death
Making these immigration policy decisions is “easy” for the Trump administration, but for some of those affected “it is a question of life or death,” Dorsainvil said.
“At the end of the day, the majority of them are just being here working and trying to contribute to the good cause of the country,” Dorsainvil said. “Springfield is the perfect example and when you look at it you see that they are there in every sphere of life, within the health department and the school district; they are everywhere.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
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