Protections for 45,000 Haitians and almost 300 Syrians across Massachusetts are set to expire as soon as Monday after a second short delay by a judge. Temporary Protected Status was set to expire July 10 for around 354,000 Haitians and Syrians nationwide, then Friday, but termination was delayed again just a few hours into the day.
“Haitians have profound uncertainty, fear and hardship within the community. I’ve witnessed it firsthand,” said Dieufort “Keke” Fleurissaint, senior pastor at Total Health Christian Ministries, a naturalized citizen from Haiti who works with immigrants daily. “This situation is very devastating, creating emotional, economic as well as social consequences on those families.”
Although the ministry is based in Milton, his work extends to Greater Boston, including Somerville, Mattapan and Dorchester.
“To be practical, not only to pray with the people and bring a message of hope, I am connecting with several other institutions that are helping to organize community resource events,” he said. “We are hosting legal clinics, we are hosting wellness clinics, partnering with the health center.” The clinics bring mental health workers as well as medical doctors.
TPS was implemented for Haitian immigrants for 18 months after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. The designation has been extended multiple times due to continuing gang violence, political unrest and food shortages in the country.
“After the earthquake, we hoped things will get better, Haiti will be rebuilt. That wasn’t the case. We’d see the influx, the polarization of many gangs’ activities, and now they occupy 80 percent of Port-au-Prince,” Fleurissaint said. “With your eyes, you can see it every day. People being kidnapped in Haiti. Every day, people are being killed in Haiti.”
The U.S, Department of State ranks Haiti and Syria at the highest level of risk in its travel advisories: “Do Not Travel.”
In November, though, then-secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced termination of TPS for Haitians because there were no extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti that prevented Haitian nationals from returning safely. The Supreme Court ruled almost a month ago to allow the Trump administration action.
Watching the courts
A district judge on the D.C. circuit on Wednesday gave only a few days’ reprieve, and for a technical reason: aligning the date of action with one established in the Supreme Court ruling. This falls short of the refutation asked in a lawsuit brought by the National TPS Alliance, Haitian Bridge Alliance, ACLU and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network with lead plaintiff Fritz Emmanuel Lesly Miot, a 33-year-old Haitian-born man who has lived in the United States for 15 years and works in a California laboratory researching Alzheimer’s disease.
“We’ve known that TPS was hanging in the balance, not just for Haiti and Syria, but for all countries where there is a temporary protected status designation, because we knew that this was something that was going to come under attack,” said Maria Teresa Nagel, director of the SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs in Somerville. “Before this final decision from the Supreme Court, we had been reaching out to the community in Somerville to ensure that people [with] temporary protected status would consult with an attorney.”
The Supreme Court’s June 25 decision held that the DHS and the president have authority to determine which countries remain on TPS and that district courts cannot overturn those decisions.
“We’ve heard from providers throughout the city, nonprofits and businesses who just don’t know what to do with this news and how to process this, how to show up for their neighbors, how to support their community, what kind of information to provide,” Nagel said.
Impact
The Supreme Court ruling gives the government the go-ahead to terminate protective status and all other benefits with it, including employment authorization.
“This situation is so traumatic right now that I’m receiving calls daily. At night, people stop by my office trying to speak with me, and I say I just don’t have an answer,” Fleurissaint said. “So many families are experiencing severe emotional distress. As you know, facing the possibility right now of losing not only legal protections but losing your jobs, you just don’t know how you’re going to cope with all the difficulties that will come after.”
Massachusetts hosts the second largest Haitian population in the country, and their loss is expected to resound, including in Somerville and Cambridge.
“These are the folks that are taking care of grandma and grandpa and elder care and in our hospitals … They’re everywhere. Our economy is going to be gravely impacted, and our lives are going to be gravely impacted by their inability to rejoin the workforce,” Nagel said. Many of the people losing work authorizations are doctors, nurses, attorneys, advocates, neighbors, friends and partners who have “contributed culturally and emotionally to the fabric of the community.”
Organizations such as Somerviva and the Greater Boston Legal Services continue to hold clinics for holders to speak with an attorney. Some may meet the criteria for other pathways to stay in the country, such as seeking asylum and other visas, but increasing restrictions, asylum caps and higher costs for applications have made those more difficult to pursue.
“It’s very limited, the options, or they might have already gone for them. I mean, a lot of the number of people I work with through GBLS have other kinds of cases, so those are ongoing, but that doesn’t protect you entirely,” said Beth Britz, a Cambridge resident who volunteers with Greater Boston Legal Services.
Future action
The administration has eliminated protected status for six countries and is taking steps to terminate the status for more than 1 million people from 11 other nations. This leaves only four other countries, including El Salvador and Ukraine, protected under TPS ahead of the normal expiration date.
“This will affect thousands of people under TPS, not just Haitians; it will impact the economy of the country and culture, taking away millions who have made a life here,” said Eny Lovo, who works with Neighbors United for a Better East Boston and is under TPS for El Salvador.
Piecemeal battles rage on over immigrant rights. On Tuesday, a federal judge blocked attempts by the Trump administration to add obstacles to asylum applications and to revoke work authorization for TPS holders from El Salvador and Ukraine. It lasts only until Aug. 5.
In Congress, Massachusetts senator Ed Markey has filed a bill for a three-year extension of Haiti’s status. A version organized by Massachusetts representative Ayanna Pressley has already passed the House.
“This miracle has to happen, but it has to happen soon. Since there are only a few more days, people are on edge. It’s a terrible time,” Britz said.
Though community leaders are optimistic over Massachusetts officials’ attempts to protect immigrants, many continue to worry.
“We’re fortunate to live in Massachusetts and in Cambridge. We’re better off than in a number of places. However, we’re up against the federal government and the Supreme Court. It’s really a struggle,” Britz said.
Nagel agreed, reiterating that everyone will feel the impact of this decision, even those “far removed.”
“Hopefully this will allow for there to be louder voices in terms of advocacy and in terms of measures to be taken against such inhumane practices from this administration and a realization that even within a framework of America first, this actually puts America last,” she said.
About The Author
