Escalation: Haitian TPS Protections Officially Expire

Temporary Protected Status for Haitians ended on July 27, cutting off deportation protection and work authorization tied to that program. Immigration officials had been issuing last-minute extensions of only a few days and then did not extend on Monday, prompting a Key West restaurant to suspend six Haitian staff after the government site listed their permits as invalid. Estimates of those affected range from more than 300,000 to about 350,000 nationwide, including roughly 158,000 in Florida.

Anyone without another legal status or a separate work permit can now be detained and placed in removal if encountered by immigration agents. ICE prepared to ramp up arrests and quick deportation flights targeting Haitian communities, including operations in Ohio. South Florida employers and institutions braced for gaps, with at least 40 Catholic Health Services workers identified as at risk of losing their jobs.

Some people will keep work authorization through other pending cases, such as asylum or family-based green cards. DHS general counsel James Percival said those with expiring TPS had one last opportunity to take $2,600 and a free flight home.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources