Hundreds rally in Miami urging Congress to Protect Haiti TPS

MIAMI — Hundreds of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, immigrant advocates, faith leaders, labor organizations and community members gathered Thursday evening at the Little Haiti Cultural Center in Miami to urge Congress to pass legislation providing permanent legal protections for TPS recipients from Haiti.

The rally, organized by Avanse Ansanm, was part of a nationwide day of action held one day before many TPS holders were scheduled to lose their work authorization under the Trump administration’s policy changes.

Demonstrators repeatedly called on lawmakers to support Senate Bill 4814, which would provide permanent protections, including a pathway to citizenship, for eligible TPS holders.

“We’re trying to get everyone to vote yes on Senate Bill 4814,” Santra Denis, the president and founder of Avanse Ansanm, said in an interview with The Haitian Times. “Call your senators, email them, text them to ensure that we’re putting pressure on them to say ‘yes’ to extending TPS for Haitians.

“Volunteer…we need drivers; we’re going to need people to do grocery deliveries, court accompaniment…all of these services people are going to need,” she added.

Several attendees chanted, waved signs and voiced their frustration over the recent Supreme Court ruling that allows the administration to move forward with ending protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants. 

The demonstration followed a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority allowing the Trump administration to proceed with ending TPS for Haitians and Syrians. 

Advocates say the ruling places approximately 350,000 TPS holders at risk of losing the legal protections that allow them to live and work in the United States.

Many speakers emphasized that TPS holders have become integral members of their communities, working in hospitals, hotels, restaurants, construction, agriculture and other industries while raising families and contributing billions of dollars annually to the U.S. economy.

“I see firsthand how immigration is affecting the schools today,” said Wedly Mesidor, a candidate for Miami-Dade County public schools, who also has family on TPS. “We can’t go back right now. The quality of life in Haiti is not good for the children.”

Roughly 158,000 Haitians in Florida had TPS protections.

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