Miami calls for compassionate protections for Haitians ahead of TPS deadline

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami is calling for compassionate immigration protections for Haitian nationals as their temporary protected status (TPS) work permit extensions expire. Wenski stated that Haiti remains unsafe for migrants to return to due to ongoing political instability, economic collapse, widespread violence, and humanitarian suffering.

The expiration of court-extended employment authorization documents on July 27 affects approximately 353,000 Haitian nationals holding TPS in the United States. Local ministries within the Archdiocese of Miami are preparing for the impact of these policy changes, which include the loss of work authorizations for diocesan employees. Catholic Health Services, one of the archdiocese's largest ministries, is currently evaluating how recent federal changes to TPS affect its significant number of Haitian workers.

While the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation in April to extend TPS for Haitian nationals by three years, the measure has stalled in the Senate. This follows a June 25 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed the Department of Homeland Security to end TPS for Haitians and Syrians.