‘It’s really heart wrenching’: State Rep. hoping for last-minute reprieve before Haitians lose TPS

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. — Hundreds of thousands of Haitians, many here in South Florida, are days away from losing their legal right to live and work in the United States.

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Temporary Protected Status is set to end Friday for around 350,000 Haitians as well as around 4,000 Syrians.

State Rep. Marie Woodson of Pembroke Pines is someone who’s lived the American dream after being born in Haiti.

In 1981, when she was 21, Woodson moved to the U.S. in search of a better life.

She now says her heart is aching or people like her who could soon be deported.

“It’s really heart wrenching what the people are going through,” said Woodson. “And as a Haitian American serving in the state legislature, I felt it could’ve been me because I’m also from Haiti.”

Woodson represents parts of both Miami-Dade and Broward counties and says she is constantly hearing from Haitians in need who are asking for help.

“They want to know what we are doing,” she said. “Even though immigration is a federal issue, I’m a state legislator, but they still want to know, you are elected, what are you going to do about it?”

This all coming after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Department of Homeland Security to end TPS for these groups, with the DHS claiming Haiti is now safe enough for people to return to.

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The United Nations and the U.S. State Department, meanwhile, continue to wan of frequent gang violence and kidnapping in Haiti.

“When you look at what’s going on in Haiti, the gangs, everything, those people have nothing to go back to right now,” said Woodson.

Many South Florida Haitians work in hospitality and healthcare, and advocates have said that will hit those industries that are already dealing with staffing shortages hard.

“A lot of business owners they come to me, their employees are mostly immigrants right, with TP, so if they don’t have immigrants in their job, over 90% of their workforce will no longer be there,” said business owner Dinah Escarment.

Woodson is asking the president or Congress to do something before its too late.

“I’m just asking for compassion, I’m asking for humanity for my brothers and sisters,” she said.

While Woodson said she understands criminals being deported, she said most of the people impacted by this are hard-working, decent human beings who are just trying to get a better life.

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