SPRINGFIELD — Employment authorization for Haitian immigrants who have Temporary Protected Status has been extended.
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As News Center 7 previously reported, the US Supreme Court ruled that Temporary Protected Status can end for immigrants from countries including Haiti.
That protected status was set to end on July 10.
On Friday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services extended TPS-related work authorization for Haitians. It’s now set to end on July 24.
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Haitians who only have TPS as an immigration status will be considered TPS overstays and will be living in the country illegally, subject to detention and deportation.
In the Miami Valley, Springfield has a large Haitian community. At one point, leaders estimated upwards of 15,000 Haitians living in the city.
News Center 7’s Amber Jenkins talked to people in the city about the extension on Friday.
Some people said good riddance, while others said the Supreme Court made the wrong decision.
But just about everyone agreed that the Haitian Community Support and Help Center will be busy in the coming weeks.
“They probably don’t know how to or what to feel. I mean, I wouldn’t if somebody brings me into their home and then just strips me of everything. That’s wrong, that’s wrong. It makes me feel some type of way for sure,” Gage Harrison, of Springfield, said.
Harrison has sympathy for people living in Springfield on TPS.
“I hope it all works out for them, and I just hope it works out, really. I hope it doesn’t go the way it’s looking like it’s gonna go,” he said.
After months of uncertainty in Springfield, two weeks will come fast, as could its impact on Haitians and their employers.
“The impact, the fear that has been instilled in folks, I see it already happening,” Haitian Community Support and Help Center Executive Director Viles Dorsainvil said.
Dorsainvil said there will be a lot of uncertainty after July 24.
“Every family has a budget, and they know that they have the insurance to pay, they have their rent payment to pay, and automatically they know that in a few days they will be out of work. As a father or as a mother, how would you feel?” he said.
In two weeks, Homeland Security will make a final decision on TPS.
Staff at the center in Springfield are bracing for an increased demand for support.
“We’ll continue to do it, to be here for the people, but we can’t guarantee them long-term support. And they did not come here for that type of assistance and support. They just came here to work,” Dorsainvil said.
Homeland Security said it’s working with the Department of Justice to uphold the Supreme Court’s ruling on all TPS cases, according to its website.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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