ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge has halted the termination of protections that allow hundreds of thousands of Haitians to live in the U.S. The change was scheduled to take effect on Tuesday but is now paused.
Florida is home to more than 350,000 Haitians. Many of them are employed in Central Florida’s largest industry, which is tourism.
“I was sad,” Nattacha Wyllie, who runs the Haitian American Art Network, said. “Knowing Haiti’s situation, the first thing that came to mind is where those people are going to go.
Wyllie left Haiti when she was twelve and now calls Orlando home.
Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was initially activated in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake and has been extended multiple times.
Wyllie said the country is racked by gang violence and is not safe to return to.
“Knowing the people who left Haiti to be here have nothing else in Haiti,” Wyllie said. “Going back would be like starting all over to them.”
While the order to end TPS for Haitians is on pause, Wyllie isn’t sure what to expect in the days ahead.
Florida Congressman Randy Fine reacted to the block. He sent Channel 9 this statement.
“This is the latest attempt by an activist judge to undermine President Trump’s agenda. Judge Ana Reyes seems to have forgotten that Temporary Protected Status was never meant to be permanent. She can cry racism all she wants, but when that status ends, it’s time to go home.”
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried also reacted. She said in part:
“Ending TPS for our Haitian neighbors is not just cruel, it’s inhumane. We know this is not permanent, that this is one step in a very long journey for these Haitian families.”
While TPS holders are granted the right to live and work in the U.S., it does not provide a legal pathway to citizenship.
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