New York City making push to assist Haitian asylum seekers with TPS

City combines resources with law firms and nonprofits to aid Haitian asylum seekers in TPS applications

New York City is ramping up efforts to support Haitian asylum seekers, according to a representative from the mayor’s office. The city is reaching out to hundreds of people in its system to assist them in applying for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) after the federal government extended and renewed the policy for Haitians last month.

The initiative is part of the broader work of the city’s Asylum Application Help Center that 

combines government resources with support from law firms, corporations, nonprofits, and academic institutions to provide assistance in completing and filing asylum applications.

In its first year, the center has helped submit over 58,000 applications for work authorization, TPS, and asylum. Of those applications, 1.5 percent noted their country of origin as Haiti, according to Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for the Office of Mayor Eric Adams. Factoring in potential duplicates, the figure could mean an estimated 580 to 850 Haitians in need of the assistance. 

“We’re calling every eligible Haitian individual in our care to book them an appointment,” Garcia said in an email to The Haitian Times. “There are hundreds of people on our list, and we will call through the list three times in a week.”

The outreach to Haitian asylum seekers is significant given the instability in Haiti over the last several years, which has driven many to seek refuge in the United States. 

The city’s outreach efforts come amid the recent extension and redesignation of TPS for Haiti. 

Originally designated following the 2010 earthquake, TPS for Haitians has been extended multiple times due to ongoing instability and natural disasters in Haiti. 

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced an additional 18-month extension due to the “extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti,” allowing an estimated 309,000 additional Haitians already in the United States to apply for TPS.

Eligible individuals must have established residence in the U.S. on or before June 3, 2024, and can submit their applications from July 1, 2024, through February 3, 2026, with the opportunity to seek Employment Authorization Documents and travel authorization.

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