MIAMI (WSVN) - Hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the United States who are facing a deadline ending their temporary protected status received a brief reprieve after a court order extended it three more days.
TPS for more than 300,000 people was set to expire Friday, following a Supreme Court decision giving the green light to the Trump administration to revoke this legal protection.
But a court order issued Wednesday night by a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., states that those protections have to remain in place until at least Monday, bringing a small sigh of relief for those Haitians who call South Florida home.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava called the decision a temporary bandage on a permanent problem in her Thursday interview with 7News.
“Three more days to pack your bags. Three more days to think about what’s going to happen if you are separated from your children, or your business or your home? It is not a solution. The solution is the extension of TPS,” she said.
Levine Cava said Haitians living in South Florida pay taxes and help the local economy.
“We have so many, hundreds of thousands, of Haitians who are here contributing and have done, for years and years, paying taxes, opening businesses. It’s going to throw our community and our economy into turmoil,” the mayor said.
Miami-Dade District 2 Commissioner Marleine Bastien said while it’s good that these Haitian nationals have extra time, it is cruel that their freedom is on the line.
“They are being used as a ping pong, like a political ping pong,” said Bastien. “What are they supposed to do in three days? This is very cruel to them.”
The court order came hours after Levine Cava joined other community advocates and leaders in a press conference in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood.
“This week is the critical week for our future,” said Levine Cava.
The late night ruling comes as protection from deportation was set to end Friday.
Leaders at Wednesday’s press conference called for more time and stressed the importance of the Haitian community.
“These are taxpayers, homeowners, business owners. These are consumers to support local businesses, and they are business owners,” said Bastien. “Ninety-five percent of Haitian TPS holders are employed. Ninety-five percent. Together, they contribute nearly $5.8 billion to the U.S. economy each year.”
Haitians were first granted TPS in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake that left hundreds of thousands of people dead, yet the push from the Trump administration to end their protection comes as the country remains under a Level 4 do not travel advisory due to widespread gang violence, civil unrest and limited emergency services.
“If those thousands and thousands of TPS recipients are deported back to Haiti, they will return to a nation that is 10 times worse than when TPS was awarded in 2010,” said Bastien.
While this extension is just three days, local leaders continue to urge senators to pas Senate Bill 4814, which would extend TPS for Haitians for another three years.
“We call upon our senators, Ashley Moody and Rick Scott, to do the right thing,” said Levine Cava.
“It is not too late. Sen. Rick Scott. Sen. Ashley Moody, the TPS recipients are calling on you to step up,” said Bastien.
Cava and Bastien told 7News they’ve reached out to the Senate offices of Scott and Moody on the bill, but have yet to hear back.
The Supreme Court is expected to hand this case back over to the district court on Monday.
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