Rally held in NYC to support Haitian immigrants as TPS protection ends
A rally was held in New York City's Foley Square just steps away from Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters on Friday evening as supporters of Haitian immigrants called for action.
They're demanding that Congress uphold legal protections that are now in jeopardy after Temporary Protected Status ended.
The rally aimed to shed light on the instability many immigrant communities face following the Supreme Court decision that gave the Department of Homeland Security the greenlight to terminate the designation for 13 countries.
One of the largest groups impacted, according to immigration advocates, is Haitians, with some 40,000 just in New York City alone.
TPS is a humanitarian immigration program that is typically extended to immigrants facing unsafe conditions in their home country. With rampant crime and widespread instability since the 2010 earthquake, TPS gave Haitians a sense of security that is now gone.
"We all deserve a fair fighting chance, despite where you come from," one speaker at the rally said.
"The level of dehumanization that we are seeing of Haitians, of immigrants at large, is not surprising, but is just a profoundly cruel reminder of how deeply anti-immigrant and racist this administration is," said Aline Gue, with Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees.
Local activists and Haitian immigrant rights groups are calling on Congress to grant permanent residency for those who lost their TPS.
"We won't accept what's happening, and we're gonna continue to push Congress to find real pathways for change," Gue said.
The groups are also urging the passing of the American Dream and Promise Act to bring millions of so-called Dreamers and TPS holders out of legal uncertainty.
With a risk of deportation imminent, many former TPS holders are currently consulting immigration attorneys to see if they qualify for other legal pathways like asylum or family-based petitions. The wait list, however, remains high, and in some cases, they're running into hurdles.
"We are realizing that people are getting poor legal advice or are getting advice from people who actually aren't actual immigration attorneys," said Kerbie Joseph, with Caribbean Defense.
"Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. DHS does not discuss ongoing or future operations," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement, in part. "Temporary Protected Status is exactly that—temporary. For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent."
