Attorney: Ending TPS a "Disaster" for Haitians and Florida

By Karen Curtis
US-HAITI-IMMIGRATION-TPS

A woman prays during a candlelight vigil for Haitians living in the US under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) immigration program in Miami, Florida on February 3, 2026. Late on February 2, federal judge Ana C. Reyes of the Federal District Court in Washington, blocked the Trump administration from ending TPS for an estimated 350,000 Haitian immigrants. The status, which offers protection from deportation and work authorization, was set to expire on Feb. 3. (Photo by Giorgio Viera / AFP via Getty Images)Photo: GIORGIO VIERA / AFP / Getty Images

(Miami, FL) - Temporary Protected Status gets a last-minute two-week extension today, just hours before it was to expire tonight. The authorization protects citizens of several nations including Haiti.

Florida has the largest Haitian population in the US and many work in the service industry and health care.

Immigration attorney Tammy Fox-Isicoff says if they did not apply for asylum within a year of arriving here, they will lose their work permit.

Fox-Isicoff adds, "We have a lot of Haitians in South Florida. They work predominantly in the service industry and the healthcare field."

Fox-Isicoff says many who lose their work permit will stay here and get paid under the table. And she warns that companies and corporations who employ Haitians without a work permit will potentially face sanctions, fines and criminal penalties.

She also predicts that no immigrants will want to return Haiti or Venezuela as "both are in complete chaos and anarchy."

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