South Florida leaders, Haitian community speak out on SCOTUS ruling allowing end to TPS for thousands

Community and faith leaders, immigration advocates and members of the South Florida Haitian community gathered in Miami on Friday morning to denounce the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that permits the cancellation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of people.

The decision now puts Haitian nationals at risk of losing their legal status and work authorization in the United States.

During the news conference on Friday, speakers addressed those impacts that the decision will have on Haitian families in South Florida, as well as the economic effect in communities across the U.S.

Speakers urged the U.S. Senate to support Senate Bill S.4814, which is aimed at providing long-term protections and stability for those currently protected under TPS.

Supreme Court lets President Trump strip deportation protections from Haitians, Syrians

On Thursday, the Supreme Court said that the Trump administration can move forward with its efforts to strip more than 356,000 Haitian and Syrian immigrants of TPS that allowed them to live and work in the United States.

The White House celebrated Supreme Court's decision, saying in a statement that it affirms President Donald Trumps's belief that temporary protected status is meant to be temporary.

"It was never intended to be a pathway to permanent status or legal residency and it is committed to the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security," Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said. "The Trump Administration continues to lawfully end the egregious abuses to our immigration system that have hurt Americans for years."