Carolyn Beeler: So, what actually happens next for Haitians with TPS in the US right now?

 François Pierre-Louis: Well, the first thing is that their work authorizations will be canceled. So, there are many Haitians have already received letters from their employers to let them know that they won’t be able to work as of July 1. And secondly, many of these Haitians are supporting their family members in Haiti. So, automatically, there’s going to be big economic impact on Haitians in Haiti and also on Haitians in the community.

So, losing work authorization is an important impact, of course. What else will happen?

First, people will be going underground. In terms of health issues, they will be afraid to go to the hospitals. They’ll be afraid to go out on the streets so that they are not picked up by ICE, and their children, the biggest issue will be — what will happen to their children if they leave, because their children are US citizens.

And what are folks’ legal options now?

Not much. Not much. Organizations like us are trying to get the Senate to support the bill that will extend TPS to 2029. Several senators have already agreed to sponsor the bill, but so far we don’t have enough, and we are working on that.

It is not, though, the case that people will be immediately deported. Is that right?

I think the strategy of the administration is to have people self-deport because many people are afraid to go into ICE prisons. You know, there have been cases of Haitians dying in the prisons, so people are really afraid of that, and many of them would just pack and leave or try to stay underground.

Pack and leave, so self-deport, or try to stay underground, you said?

Yes, stay underground.

The Department of Homeland Security has already ended TPS for roughly 1 million people, including some 600,000 Venezuelans who lost protection last year. So far, according to the Miami Herald, hundreds of Venezuelans have been deported. That’s not insignificant, but that is not a large percentage of those who lost TPS protection. Is that an argument that this might not lead to a lot of people actually having to leave the country, and being deported?

Well, if you don’t leave the country and you are not legal, you don’t have a job, and if you are sick, you cannot go to the hospital, it’s possible that ICE will pick you up on the streets anytime. It creates a lot of fear within the community. So, other members of the community who are legal will have to support their family members, will have to shelter them. It would be a difficult situation for the whole community when you look at it, because even if they self-deport back to Haiti, right now the situation in Haiti doesn’t allow them to have a life, to have housing. Infrastructure is bad, and the gangs have occupied most of the country. And you have a government that is corrupt and not addressing the needs of the population.

I wanted to ask about conditions in Haiti relating to a statement from the lawyer for the Department of Homeland Security. He applauded the decision on social media and wrote in reaction, “The T in TPS stands for temporary,” yet that many of these designations became de facto amnesty. What is your response to that in relation to Haitians with TPS?

You know, those Haitians sent back by the US to Cap-Haïtien, to the north of Haiti, they don’t have housing, they don’t have food, they don’t have jobs. So, it’s a total chaotic situation, and the US knows that. The US consulate office is closed in Haiti. So, if they know, and the State Department has discouraged Americans to travel to visit Haiti … they know the situation is bad.

You are from Haiti. You’ve been living in the US since 1974. How does this moment feel to you?

Well, it’s very personal because I know a lot of people who have TPS, and I know a lot of people also right now are very depressed and they don’t know what to do. And it’s not that they don’t want to go back to Haiti, but right now going back to Haiti, it’s like a death sentence for them. So, it’s very depressing. And, you know, we didn’t expect that from the US.