Clock Ticks Down on Special Visa Program for Haitians

The first word in the name of the program suggested it wouldn't last forever.

But Haitian immigrants are pleading with the Trump Administration to renew the Temporary Protected Status visa designation that's permitted some 60,000 Haitians to stay in the United States since 2010, when a devastating earthquake struck the poor island nation.

"We are here to urge the federal government to extend the TPS," said New York City Councilman Mathieu Eugene, a native of Haiti. "There's no way we can send to Haiti 60,000 Haitian people who are living here for so many years."

That's a national figure. In New York state, there's an estimated 5,200 Haitians on TPS, most of them in New York City.

Previously, refugees could get 18-month renewals relatively easily. But in May, the Department of Homeland Security announced renewals would go down to six months, and the program could end by January for Haiti.

"During this 6-month extension, beneficiaries are encouraged to prepare for their return to Haiti in the event Haiti’s designation is not extended again," a DHS document says, noting the head of the agency "at least 60 days before Jan. 22, 2018 ... will re-evaluate the designation for Haiti and will determine whether another extension, a re-designation, or a termination is warranted.

Guy Labardy is a United States citizen, but he has two brothers who are in New York on TPS, and cousins here who could be eligible for DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act, except that the Trump administration has threatened to terminate that program, too.

"They work. They pay their taxes. They go to college," Labardy said. "They support the community. They come to church every Sunday."

The left-leaning Center for American Progress estimates Haitian immigrants contribute more than 250 million dollars to the state's economy.