Haitians "scared to death" as Trump ends TPS status for 400,000, Miami-Dade commissioner says
On Tuesday, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 400,000 Haitians will come to an end, as the Trump Administration targets them for deportation.
Haitian American advocates, like Miami Dade County Commissioner Marlene Bastien, said the move is both cruel and creates a sense of fear in the community.
"People are scared to death, they are freaking out," Bastien told CBS Miami during an interview for Sunday's edition of Facing South Florida. "I'm hearing from TPS recipients who have been living in this country for a long time, some as long as 15 or 20 years. `Commissioner, what am I going to do? What am I going to do with my children? What am I going to do with my business? What am I going to do with my house?' And I'm also hearing from employers who are gravely concerned."
Bastien said the Haitians here under TPS are "the most vetted group in the US" because they must go through an annual review to maintain their status.
Bastien noted that during the pandemic, Haitians, many of whom worked in nursing homes and hospitals, continued to go to work.
"They were on the job when a lot of us were allowed to stay home," she said.
The president's positions show "serious racial animus"
Bastien stopped short of calling President Trump a racist but said "some of the positions he took showed serious racial animus toward Haitians."
She said it is horrifying to think Haitians who have lived in the United States would be deported to Haiti, a country that is considered one of the most dangerous in the world.
She observed that "at times of great political upheaval, women and girls fare worse. That doesn't mean that not everybody's in danger in Haiti, but women and girls fare worse. Mothers are giving birth control to their girls not because they are sexually active but because … young girls and women are going to be raped."
She said she was disappointed that more people have not stood up in support of Haitians.
"I'm inviting Americans to know more about the root causes of migration, to know about Haitians' contributions," she said. "There is some support, but there should be more right now. I mean, we're talking about people who are facing deportations to a country where the little girls will face collective rape – girls as young as five. Why isn't there a big outpouring of support? It's because of the narrative that immigrants, not only Haitians, but immigrants are here to take your jobs and that they are the problem when they are not. They are not the problem."