South Florida workers, leaders demand extension of Haitian TPS: "Fight to have the right to live the American dream"

Faith leaders, nursing home workers, and hotel employees holding signs and chanting joined airport staff at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport on Wednesday, all with one common goal.

They are asking the Trump administration to extend Haitian Temporary Protected Status, which is set to expire Feb. 3.

The group marched outside the airport and ended with a prayer and candlelight vigil for the 350,000 Haitian nationals affected across the country. More than 100,000 of them live in South Florida.

"I wanted to live the American dream, and now they're stripping it away from me. That is unfair," said Farah Larrieux, a Haitian TPS recipient.

Larrieux is also a business owner who has been in the United States since 2005.

TPS recipients share concerns

Before the march, the group gathered for a rally.  

"This is unjust to tell people to go back to a country," Larrieux said. "It is so hard for them to leave, and for some of them it is a death sentence to go back to Haiti."

Members of Congress show support

Congresswomen Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Sheila Cherfilus‑McCormick were also there to show their support.

"I come here today to beg not because I don't have pride, but because the Haitian people are suffering so much they have asked me to," Cherfilus‑McCormick said.

"When I go back to Washington next week, I am going to be signing a discharge petition to try to force the TPS for Haitians legislation to the House floor," added Wasserman Schultz.

Hope for those facing uncertainty

It was a glimmer of hope for Larrieux, who said she will not stop fighting to stay in the country she now calls home.

"Right now, I am focusing on the fight," Larrieux said. "The fight for my rights, the fight to stay in the United States, and the fight to have the right to live the American dream."

According to airport officials, an estimated 150 Haitian TPS employees work at FLL.