‘Trust me, you’re gonna feel it’: Ending TPS for Haitians will have workforce fallout, leaders fear

MIAMI — The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling clearing the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for more than 350,000 Haitians in the country is not only sparking outcry about the human impact, but the potential impact on the South Florida workforce.

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South Florida is home to the largest Haitian community in the U.S.

Community leaders, immigration advocates and Haitian families gathered in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood on Friday decrying the end to TPS for Haitians.

But TPS holder Farah Larrieux said she can’t allow herself to be sad.

“It takes courage and determination to fight evil,” she said.

Local 10 News reporter Christian De La Rosa asked, “You think that decision from the Supreme Court was evil?”

“Yes. It is evil,” Larrieux replied.

Many are also fearing the potential hit to the area’s economy.

TPS Haitians are known for working in industries like hospitality and long-term care for seniors.

“They are our working men and women,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a news conference on Friday. “They are our business owners. They create jobs. They are fueling our basic industries.”

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According to some estimates, their economic impact in the US is $6 billion ― $1 billion in Miami.

“They can’t afford to lose their workforce, the hospitality industry, the agriculture industry, all these places,” ” business owner Dinah Escarment said. “Everyone who’s going to these hotels, when your room is not ready on time, when you don’t have someone to cater to you in the different restaurants in this different industries, trust me, you’re gonna feel it.”

Administration officials called the TPS ruling “a very straightforward legal issue.”

“The ‘T’ in TPS stands for temporary,” U.S. Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival said on Fox News.

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