End of Temporary Protected Status looms for Haitians with many scared to leave home in South Florida

Hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the United States, including the estimated more than 150,000 in South Florida, are expected to lose their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by the end of the day on Monday.

And the impact is already being felt in Miami.

CBS News Miami crews spent the morning walking the streets of Little Haiti and spoke with several people who are saying the same thing – Haitians with TPS living in the U.S. are scared to leave their homes.

The streets of Miami's Little Haiti were quiet Monday morning.

"They've just been staying at home, staying out of trouble," a Miami shop owner said.

The man, whose family has worked in the heart of Little Haiti for decades, spoke with CBS News Miami on the condition of anonymity.

"We employ people who want to do good for the community," he said.

He said many members of the community have no home to go back to in Haiti.

"The only ones who are able to go back are the ones who own land, and they probably have their own village, which is away from the crimes," he said. "But a majority of the people here don't have that luxury. So, they don't have an option to go back to."

According to two agency sources and documents obtained by CBS News – ICE is planning on ramping up efforts to deport Haitians on TPS, starting with Ohio.

In a statement to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said it "does not discuss ongoing or future operations."

The Department argued TPS has been used as a "Defacto amnesty program" and suggested that those set to lose their status should self-deport.

"When the ICE raids do unfortunately come in, the community will bound together in order to back away from the ICE  raids," the man said.

There are 158,000 Haitians in Florida on TPS. Of those, 113,000 work in the medical field. The Haitian Chamber of Commerce told CBS News Miami earlier this month that it has been fielding questions from TPS holders asking what will happen to their businesses and homes.

About 63,000 people set to lose their status also own homes.

"This decision will ruin entire ecosystems in our community here in Florida, in the rest of the United States," said Candice Mondesir with the Haitian American Chamber of Commerce of Florida.

The United States Department of State is warning Americans not to travel to Haiti, citing crime, kidnapping and overall unrest.

And Haitians in the U.S. on TPS say that's why they can't go back.