TPS recipients to share their personal stories as DHS Temporary Protected Status (TPS) decision approaches
MIAMI – On Monday, November 6, at 3:15 p.m., TPS recipients and community leaders will convene at FANM’s (Haitian Women of Miami) office in Little Haiti to share their personal stories as a decision by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the future of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is expected to be announced in the coming days.
On Tuesday, October 31, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent a letter to DHS Secretary Elaine Duke to inform her that conditions in Central America and Haiti have improved and no longer require TPS designation.
Responding to this statement, prominent immigration lawyer Ira Kurzban stated: “the decision of the Department of the State to recommend sending TPS victims to Haiti is part of the continuing pattern of race and national origin discrimination that Haitians have suffered.
Secretary Tillerson’s recommendation is even more troubling because of his and Trump’s decision this week to refuse to use available funds to fight Haiti’s cholera epidemic”. This position is an affront to the truth because Central American nations are listed among the most violent in the world.
Additionally, Haiti’s government does not have the capacity to absorb and care for 58,000 deportees as Haiti is still suffering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Matthew that left hundreds of thousands of Haitians without homes, food or potable drinking water. The island is also still suffering from a severe cholera epidemic introduced by United Nations peacekeepers after the 2010 earthquake.
“Deporting over 300,000 people who have been living in the U.S. for an average of seven to twenty-nine years is unconscionable. These are law abiding citizens with over 270,000 U.S. born children. TPS recipients work hard, pay taxes, own homes and businesses, contribute to this country’s economy and send remittances to their families abroad”, said FANM executive director Marleine Bastien.
TPS recipients from across the country are anxiously awaiting a decision by DHS and many are terrified at the possibility of being deported in the coming months. Join us as we convene a conversation with Haitian TPS recipients, who will share their personal experiences and how this decision will impact their families.
