Members of Chicago’s Haitian community joined immigrant rights advocates Thursday for a protest over the looming end of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haitians, as protections for several immigrant groups were set to expire Friday.
The rally followed a U.S. Supreme Court decision last month backing the Trump administration’s push to terminate TPS for thousands of immigrants from multiple countries, including Haiti and Syria. The ruling has created deep uncertainty for Haitian families, workers and business owners trying to plan for the future.
On the Far South Side, the owners of Lior’s Cafe said they fear some Haitian staff members could be forced out of their jobs once their protected status ends.
“It’s scary because you come here, you establish a family, work, like, being a contributing member of society here, then all of a sudden, just like that, everything is gone,” said Merlyn Jose, manager at Lior’s Café.
TPS gives people who have fled natural disasters, armed conflict or persecution the ability to live and work legally in the United States. About 350,000 Haitians currently have TPS, with many arriving after Haiti’s catastrophic 2010 earthquake.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority sided with the Trump administration’s effort to roll back TPS protections for immigrants from several nations.
At the Jean Baptiste Point du Sable monument on Michigan Avenue, local Haitian American groups gathered to urge elected officials to intervene.
“Long before Chicago became the great city that we know today, an immigrant from Haiti helped lay its foundation,” said Patrick Brutus, co-founder of the Haitian American Professional Network.
The group was joined by lead counsel in Miot v. Trump, the TPS case that was struck down by the nation’s highest court.
“It was very much a gut-punch,” said attorney Geoff Pipoly.
“To simply have the highest court in the land brush all that evidence to one side with a wave of a hand and say it doesn’t matter, and it’s not overtly racial when it very clearly is, is hard to take,” Pipoly said.
Immigrant advocates are also urging Congress to pass Senate Bill 4814, a measure that would require the Department of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status.
As the expiration date approaches, Haitian residents, workers and business owners across Chicago say they are facing an uncertain future while awaiting the next steps from lawmakers and federal officials.
