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Now that the Trump administration has officially announced that Temporary Protected Status will end in August for Haitians and in April for Venezuelans, tensions and fear have skyrocketed in impacted immigrant communities.
From the US Citizenship and Immigration website:
On Feb. 20, 2025, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem partially vacated the July 1, 2024, notice that extended and redesignated Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The announcement amends the period of extension and redesignation of Haiti for TPS from 18 months to 12 months, with a new end date of Aug. 3, 2025, and makes a corresponding change to the initial registration period for new applicants under the redesignation, which will now remain in effect through Aug. 3, 2025
Protests are being staged around the country, including in New York City.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed this week that the Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in America will expire six months early on August 3. Spectrum News anchor Errol Louis is joined by Vania Andre, the editor-in-chief of "The Haitian Times," to talk about what is next for Haitians at risk of deportation.
There was an immediate outcry from Boston’s sizable Haitian community. City Councilor Jean Bradley Derenoncourt raised the issue of racism in this GBH News interview:
The GBH News video notes:
Temporary Protected Status - or TPS - allows about a half-million Haitian-born people to live and work in the United States legally. The Trump administration announced plans to end TPS for Haitians in August. Dr. Geralde Gabeau of the Immigrant Family Services Institute in Boston, MA and Jean Bradley Derenoncourt, a city councilor from Brockton, MA joined GBH News’ Paris Alston to discuss the impact of ending TPS and Border Czar Tom Homan’s claim that he’s “bringing hell” to Boston.
CBS Miami filed this report on the community’s response last month:
Immigrant advocacy groups have filed lawsuits against the decision to shorten the immigrants’ legal status, as NBC News reported in “Haitians sue to stop Trump administration from revoking temporary protection”:
Three organizations filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block the Trump administration’s attempt to put an early end to Temporary Protected Status for people from Haiti and Venezuela living in the U.S.
Last month, President Donald Trump’s administration rescinded the TPS extension until February 2026 that was granted under President Joe Biden, requiring Haitians to return to their country by Aug. 3 and Venezuelans by April 2.
[...]
Lawyers for Civil Rights, which is representing the groups and four people who are in the country under TPS, said the suit was the first filed on behalf of Haitians in the U.S. under TPS. Two lawsuits were quickly filed to challenge the administration’s decision on behalf of Venezuelans last month.
“TPS is a critical lifeline for immigrants who have fled extreme violence, political upheaval, and natural disasters in their home countries,” LCR senior attorney Mirian Albert said in a statement.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.
Marissa A. Prianti at The National Law Review wrote “New Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s Termination of TPS for Haiti and Venezuela”:
Haitian-Americans United, Inc., Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, UndocuBlack Network, Inc., and four individual Haitian and Venezuelan migrants residing in Boston filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on March 3, 2025, challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) decision to terminate Haitian and Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Haitian-Americans United Inc., et al. v. Trump, No. 1:25-cv-10498.
[...]
The suit alleges that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem lacked legal authority to vacate former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ July 1, 2024, decision to grant an 18-month extension of TPS for Haiti, and his Jan. 17, 2025, decision to grant an 18-month extension of TPS for Venezuela.
The complaint cites “dehumanizing and disparaging statements” that President Donald Trump has made against Haitian and Venezuelan migrants, including the claim that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were eating dogs and cats.
The suit further contends that the Trump Administration is discriminating against both groups of migrants based on race, ethnicity, or national origin in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
Canadian author and activist Yves Engler wrote a scathing piece for Common Dreams last year addressing the racism and stigma that Haitians have long faced. It was titled “Lies About Haitians Reflect America's Racist Imperialism“:
The ‘Haitians eat pets’ tale is the latest in a long line of anti-Haitian claims that goes back to the nation's slave revolt nearly 200 years ago—a struggle against slavery, colonialism, and white supremacy.
A crass new iteration of anti-Haitianism has recently received a remarkable amount of attention. This novel form of racism with deep anti-Black roots was even referenced in this week's U.S. presidential debate.
Recently racist and ignorant social media users have circulated the idea that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating pets. Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance greatly boosted the anti-Haitian claim with a post to X stating, “Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio. Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country.”
Vance’s X post had over 11 million views with Donald Trump even referencing the claim in the presidential debate. This despite an absence of any evidence whatsoever. Springfield officials haven’t received any credible reports of Haitian immigrants abducting and eating pets.
The ‘Haitians eat pets’ tale is the latest in a long line of anti-Haitian claims. In the early 1980s Haitians were stigmatized as the originators of the HIV virus in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) labeled Haitians as a risk group, which gave rise to “The Four H’s” designation of Homosexuals, Hemophiliacs, Heroin addicts, and Haitians. At the time the Canadian Red Cross publicly identified Haitians as a “high-risk” group for AIDS, the only nationality singled out. In 1983 they called on homosexuals and bisexuals with multiple partners, intravenous drug users, hemophiliacs and recent immigrants from Haiti to voluntarily stop giving blood. A Canadian government pamphlet, which was distributed in shopping malls, also linked Haitians with AIDS. Again, this was despite a lack of evidence that the incidence of AIDS in Haiti was greater than in the U.S. By 1987 it was lower in Haiti than in the U.S. and other Caribbean nations.
But, as a result of the unfounded stigmatization, the country’s significant tourism basically collapsed overnight. Out of fear the virus may transmit through goods, some Haitian exports were even blocked from entering the U.S.
Having lived through the 1980s’ AIDS pandemic in New York City, I got involved in fighting against the targeting of Haitian Americans. For those of you who were not even born or too young at the time to remember, here’s a 1983 special report on the stigma’s impact on Haitians.
Lest you think these bogus claims have gone away, the LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD reported on how “Despite Zero Evidence, U.S. Senator JD Vance Continues Disinformation Campaign Targeting Haitian Immigrants, People Living with HIV”:
In a tweet the morning of the debate and in an interview after, Vance inaccurately blamed Haitian immigrants in Springfield for a “skyrocketing” increase in HIV and TB. Public health officials say there is no evidence that HIV cases are skyrocketing in Springfield. Vance has spent several days spreading fear and disinformation about Springfield, comments amplified by his running mate, former President Donald Trump. During the presidential debate earlier in the evening, Trump responded in an exchange about immigration,” They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats.” There is zero evidence of this happening, according to the Springfield city manager and police department.
Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, responded on Twitter/X and Threads to Vance’s attack on immigrants and people living with HIV.
“JD Vance’s inflammatory comments about HIV triple down on his truly revolting lies about this community and threaten public health in the most irresponsible way,” Ellis said. “Vance’s rhetoric is not grounded in science or statistical truth. It is a racist dog whistle to a bygone era that stigmatized people of color, immigrants, and people living with HIV. Facts still matter. Anyone can have and transmit HIV, but HIV is preventable with antiretroviral medication and treatable to the point of being undetectable, therefore untransmittable, the critical message of U=U. HIV is a fully manageable condition, and people living with HIV can lead long and fulfilling lives. Vance’s desperate disinformation campaign is shamefully spreading baseless, racist lies, fueling the stigma we need to break to end HIV.”
Epidemiologist Greg Gonsalves debunked Trump and Vance’s lies.
The long-term impact of stigma combined with toxic anti-Black and anti-Haitian vitriol takes a toll on the Haitian community’s mental health. Groups like The Haitian American Psychiatric Association are in place to help.
The Haitian American Psychiatric Association, Inc. is a nonprofit mental health organization dedicated to spreading awareness of mental health issues among Haitians in the United States and Haiti. We also strive to engage communities in the development of mental health services locally and abroad.
Pass the word on.
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