By Michael P. Norton, State House News Service
Massachusetts elected officials on Monday night celebrated a federal judge’s decision to stay the Trump administration’s plan to end Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status, applauding its impact on Haitian workers and families here in Massachusetts. The administration reportedly plans to appeal the ruling.
The decision out of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia came on the eve of the scheduled end Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status, which was set to expire Tuesday.
The ruling by Judge Ana Reyes represents a “resounding win for the tens of thousands of hardworking Haitian TPS recipients in Massachusetts who deserve fairness, dignity and opportunity,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a statement, noting the key role Haitian residents play in health care and elder care.
At a hearing in Boston on Jan. 20, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Seth Moulton knocked the administration’s plan to let TPS expire for Haitian immigrants, saying it would put roughly 350,000 people nationwide — including about 45,000 in Massachusetts — at risk of deportation. Pressley, of Boston, said that her district “represents the third largest Haitian diaspora in the country.”
Markey said this on Monday evening: “Today’s ruling is a victory for the roughly 350,000 Haitian TPS holders whose status was set to expire tomorrow. By providing safe haven to those who cannot return home safely, TPS embodies the American promise as a land of freedom and refuge. Haitian TPS holders are deeply rooted in our Massachusetts communities—from Mattapan to Brockton. They are our friends, our family members, our neighbors, our colleagues. I will keep fighting to protect the Haitian community.”
TPS is granted to people from countries facing conflict, natural disaster or other extraordinary conditions.
Gov. Maura Healey’s office said Monday night that it planned to “immediately” notify employers across the state that Haitian TPS holders remain eligible to work.
“Tonight, Haitian families across our state and country can breathe a sigh of relief. Many Haitian TPS holders have been in the United States since as early as 2010,” Healey said in a statement. “If President Trump had his way, thousands of nurses, home health aides, and other essential employees would not have been able to work tomorrow, and patients and families who are dependent on caregivers would have suffered.”
Boston City Councillor Ruthzee Louijeune hailed the ruling in a statement.
“We are relieved for now and breathing a bit easier. As we’ve said time and time again, ending TPS would be devastating for Haitian families and a serious blow to Boston’s economy,” said Louijeune. “The judge recognized what our communities have been living every day: the vital contributions TPS holders make through the billions of dollars they pay in taxes and the essential work they do. They are part of our communities in every way—neighbors, hospital workers, business owners, and so much more.
Louijeune added: “The Trump Administration’s attempt to end TPS is cruel and destabilizing, ignoring the real human and economic harm it would cause. Since the ruling, my office has been flooded with calls and texts from constituents expressing relief. This is one step forward, but we will continue fighting until Haitian families have the permanent stability they deserve.”
Advocates of the administration’s decision have said it is part of a broader push to enforce immigration laws and return TPS to its original temporary intent, with the Department of Homeland Security arguing that permitting Haitian nationals to remain temporarily in the United States “is contrary to the national interest.”
“This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,” a DHS spokesperson said in a June announcement about the termination of the status.
In her ruling, Judge Reyes noted a racially-motivated animus against Haitians in the Trump White House:
“President Trump has referred to Haiti as a ‘shithole country,’ suggested Haitians ‘probably have AIDS,’ and complained that Haitian immigration is ‘like a death wish for our country.’ He has also promoted the false conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants were ‘eating the pets of the people’ in Springfield, Ohio. Even after that (ridiculous) claim was debunked, he claimed they were eating ‘other things too that they’re not supposed to be.'”
“About two weeks after the Termination, he again described Haiti as a ‘filthy, dirty, [and] disgusting…shithole country.’ He stated: ‘I have also announced a permanent pause on Third World migration, including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries.’ Then continued, ‘Why is it we only take people from shithole countries, right? Why cannot we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few, let us have a few, from Denmark.’
“It is not a coincidence that Haiti’s population is ninety-five percent black while Norway’s is over ninety percent white,” Reyes wrote.
Reporter staff added to this report.
