A Supreme Court decision issued Thursday could have major implications for South Florida’s Haitian community, putting thousands of people with Temporary Protected Status at risk of deportation.
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The ruling also carries immediate consequences for some TPS holders, including the potential loss of employment and driver’s licenses.
Farah Larrieux, who came to the United States from Haiti in 2005 and received Temporary Protected Status in 2010, described the decision in stark terms.
“It’s a death sentence,” Larrieux said.
Congress created Temporary Protected Status decades ago to protect people fleeing armed conflict or natural disasters. Larrieux is one of more than 300,000 Haitians enrolled in the program.
Haiti has been under a state of emergency since 2024 and continues to face humanitarian, economic and political turmoil.
Larrieux said she fears for her safety if she is forced to return to Haiti.
“And for me, I’m a high profile, personally, in the Haitian diaspora. And I was a famous TV host in Haiti. So that exposed me right there to be kidnapped and to be, maybe to be killed if I go back to Haiti,” she said.
In a divided ruling, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority found that President Donald Trump and the Department of Homeland Security have the authority to terminate TPS and that lower courts cannot second-guess the decision.
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The ruling immediately sparked protests outside the Supreme Court.
Isabella Comprido, an attorney with Arce Immigration Law in Miami who represents TPS clients, said the decision could have broader implications.
“This is very bad also because it creates precedents for other TPS cases, such as Venezuelans, Leons, Ukrainians. So these people are now subject to whatever the IDS decided on TPS,” Comprido said.
Despite the ruling, Comprido urged TPS holders not to panic and instead begin planning.
“The good thing is that if you enter legally in the U.S., if you apply for TPS while your status was still valid, there are other options. We can find other solutions, yes,” she said.
Comprido encouraged people affected by the decision to consult with an immigration attorney.
“Speak to an immigration attorney now, review whatever you can have other options. Because you know, this is bad. It cannot be appealed because it was a Supreme Court decision,” she said.
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