The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on April 29 on whether the Trump administration can end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people from Haiti and Syria. TPS is a humanitarian immigration protection granted to nationals from countries experiencing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or extraordinary conditions.
TPS was first designated for Haiti in 2010 immediately following a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake. Haiti has been redesignated for TPS for the last 16 years due to gang violence, kidnapping, mass displacement and widespread hunger there.
Massachusetts is home to an estimated 45,000 Haitian TPS holders, out of approximately 350,000 in the U.S. They are key workers in our nursing homes and our hospitals, in our hotels and on our construction sites. And they are our neighbors.
The fact that SCOTUS is considering the legality of an action by the administration against lawful residents of the U.S. offers a glimmer of hope in this time of aggressive and cruel actions against immigrants. May justice prevail.
Pauline Bassett
Florence