‘Pain Is Temporary’: Calls To Extend Temporary Protected Status From Legislators, Community Advocates

ELMONT, NY. — A federal judge placed a stay on a Trump administration policy last week that would have allowed Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to expire for Haitian nationals on Feb. 3, an expiration that could have left them open to immigration proceedings including deportation to a country in political turmoil. Friday at Bethany French Baptist Church in Elmont, a caucus including Michaelle and Carrié Solages — the first people of Haitian descent elected to the New York State Assembly and the Nassau County legislature — called that stay a “temporary” solution, and called on the president to keep TPS in place for Haiti.

TPS is a Department of Homeland Security designation that allows foreign nationals to remain in the United States and earn employment authorization if the conditions in their home country make it unsafe for them to return there. Currently, TPS does not give recipients a pathway to lawful permanent resident status or any other status, but it does protect them from deportation proceedings. TPS was initially granted to Haitians after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and has been extended multiple times. The withdrawal of TPS would have brought that protection to an end, a move the legislators decried Friday.

“That withdrawal would have left so many of our friends and neighbors without legal status, completely vulnerable to federal bullying and persecution based on something they have no control over,” Michaelle Solages said. “Even though there’s a stay on the withdrawal, folks are scared and they don’t have accurate information...This ruling is not a resolution, this ruling just basically says that your work authorization still remains valid. The deportation protections remain in place, and families can breathe a little bit. But, let’s be clear, this is a temporary relief. It’s not a permanent solution, and I appeal to the Trump administration to stop the bias, to stop the hate, to extend TPS. And, to congress, to create a path to citizenship for TPS holders.”

In her remarks Friday, Solages said the struggle to keep TPS in place went beyond the political.

“What we are talking about here is not politics, but is instead basic humanity. TPS exists because we know as a nation that it is plain wrong to send people back to danger, to tear parents from their children, and to pretend that cruelty can take the place of decent policy. Haitian families are woven into the fabric of our communities,” Solages said. “They care for our sick, they teach our children, they contribute to the economy, and want the same thing we all want: a safe and meaningful life without the constant threat of danger or persecution...History will look back and see what we did for our neighbors — let’s make sure we’re on the right side.”

Meanwhile, her brother, Carrié Solages, said the judge’s decision said the federal government does have the authority to let TPS expire or not. With that in mind, the Nassau County Legislator said the way forward was for community members who want TPS extended to band together, to show the federal government how important protected statues extensions are to them.

“That is a temporary victory. Temporary,” Solages said of the judge’s decision. “As we know, pain is temporary, but victory is forever. So we have to unite together as a community”

Solages encouraged residents who needed help reaching out to their employers or other elected officials to call his office for help, and highlighted the community members in attendance at the church. Among them was Dr. Karl Latortue, New York Chapter President of the Haitian Medical Association Abroad (AMHE). In Latortue's eyes, the question of TPS extension or suspension was not even a political one, so much as a question of public health.

“Today is not about politics, today is about people. I’m a physician, and everyday I take care of families who are anxious, who are hurting, who are afraid. Right now, Haitian families with temporary protected status are living with overwhelming fear: ‘Will I be taken away from my children?’” Latortue said. “The judge’s decision…is a pause in fear, not an end to it. And let me be vary clear: Deporting people to a country in crisis is not policy, it is a public health failure.”

“Haiti is facing extreme violence, political collapse, food insecurity and a broken healthcare system. Sending people back under these conditions puts their lives at risk. That’s not an opinion, that’s a medical fact,” Latortue added.

In his closing remarks, County Legislator Solages addressed Haitians and Haitian-Americans living Elmont, where he serves as county legislator and his sister serves as a state assemblywoman.

“To the Haitian community, do not adopt a spirit of fear. You are the descendants of a very brave people who were not only able to gain their freedom, but they made history when they put into reality the only successful slave revolution in the history of this great world,” he said. "You are the descendants and inheritors of that legacy and I want you to not adopt the spirt of fear, and to know you can rely on your brothers and sisters. Please reach out to our offices, there are various legal resources and also social services available to you. We are a nation of laws, and no one is above the law."