The phone calls haven’t let up at Queens-based Haitian Americans United for Progress since the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the Trump administration could end humanitarian immigration protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians in New York state and across the country, potentially paving the way for their deportation.
“ It has been nonstop calls and community panic,” Elsie Saint Louis, the group’s CEO and executive director, said in an interview on Monday.
The reaction has been much the same at Brooklyn-based Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, another community group, where calls for help have doubled in recent days. Organizer Taina Exant was leading a workshop on domestic violence after news of the decision broke, which also directly affects a much smaller number of Syrian immigrants. Exant said some participants in the workshop broke out in tears.
What else follows still isn’t clear, but the implications have been unsettling, not only to Haitian and Syrian immigrants without permanent legal immigration status, but to immigrants from a dozen other crisis-riven nations who also face the prospect of deportation as the Trump administration seeks to roll back even legal avenues for immigration.
The justices, in a 6-3 decision, cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status, a kind of humanitarian protection against deportation extended to immigrants from nations deemed too dangerous for them to be returned to – because of war, disease, environmental disaster or some other “extraordinary and temporary” condition.
The ruling specifically applies to more than 330,000 Haitians and 3,860 Syrians nationwide, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data, but it could ultimately affect TPS holders from a range of countries.
The Trump administration contends that the TPS designations were, in fact, meant to be temporary and should no longer remain in force.
New York state is home to one of the largest populations of TPS holders in the country – about 98,250 as of last March, according to the USCIS data. An estimated 40,000 Haitian TPS holders alone live in New York state, according to data compiled by Phillip Connor, a research fellow at Princeton University.
Saint Louis, at Haitian Americans United for Progress, said callers have been seeking guidance on what the court ruling means, when their TPS expires, what to do if they are placed in deportation proceedings, and counsel on other avenues for obtaining legal immigration protections.
Some employers, she said, have already begun laying off Haitian TPS holders, including those working as bus drivers and home health aides, because their work permits expired.
Among them is Carolita Antoine, a 20-year-old Haitian TPS holder who’s lived in the U.S. for the past two years and lost her job at Home Depot three months ago because her work permit expired. Since then, the Queens-based college student said she’s been living with her uncle and relying on family members for food and support.
“At first, it’s going to be scary,” Antoine said of life after the ruling, at a rally for TPS holders held by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards on Monday afternoon. “But with this kind of event, we find a kind of hope. And let's hope everything’s going to be all right soon.”
At Vine Baptist Church in Queens Village, where most congregants are TPS holders, attendance and contributions declined on Sunday, according to Rachel Antoine, the pastor’s daughter. Only about 40 people showed up, compared to the usual 100, and $524 was collected, compared to the usual $1,700, she said.
“ We know what's happening is that they need to save their money as much as they can to support for the rainy days or anything that may come,” said Rachel Antoine, a cousin of Carolita Antoine. “ We may have to come out of pocket with our own money to support rent for the church as well.”
Saint Louis said she worries about immigrants relying on fraudulent immigration attorneys and on people claiming to be immigration attorneys, as is often the case during times of crisis.
Haitian Americans United for Progress staffers are handing out know-your-rights materials to those who walk in, instructing them about what to do when confronted with immigration officers. Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees staff have been scheduling clients' calls with pro bono immigration attorneys to help.
“While litigation is one avenue that we have pursued as a community, it's not the only avenue. It’s not the only tool,” said Aline Gue, the executive director of Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, based in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
A bill pending in the U.S. Senate would require the Homeland Security Secretary to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status, but it remains unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled Congress.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs is encouraging those with questions to call their legal support hotline to connect with pro bono legal providers.
This story was updated with additional comment.
