This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. is an associate professor of Journalism,
Soon after taking office, the Trump administration moved to for the largest groups of these immigrants 鈥� those from Haiti and Venezuela.
TPS applies to immigrants from designated countries that the Department of Homeland Security considers dangerous due to armed conflicts, environmental disasters, epidemics or other conditions. There are currently . The most recent country added was Lebanon on Oct. 16, 2024.
According to a federal report published in December 2024, of the roughly 1.1 million TPS recipients live in Florida. Of those, 59% are Venezuelan and 35% are Haitian, with the other 6% coming from other TPS nations.
滨鈥檓 of at Florida International University in Miami. For the past 24 years, to report how various have integrated into Florida, and also on of historical immigration crackdowns on the state鈥檚 workforce.
Because so many TPS recipients live here, ending TPS may affect Florida more than any other state 鈥� but it is still hard to say if and when that will happen.
Uncertain TPS expiration dates
Temporary Protected Status allows beneficiaries to stay and work in the U.S. for a designated period, typically . This time period can be extended if conditions in the affected country remain unstable. It does not provide a permanent legal pathway to stay in the United States.
President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration created 鈥� one in 2021 and a second in 2023.
In early February 2025, Trump鈥檚 Homeland Security director, Kristi Noem, for Venezuelans that the outgoing Biden administration had issued on Jan. 17, 2025. Then, two days later, she issued a that canceled TPS for 2023 Venezuelan recipients altogether.
Noem鈥檚 orders meant that almost covered by the 2023 designation were expected to on April 7, 2025. Another who requested their TPS under the earlier designation were expected to lose their protections on .
But Venezuelans got some breathing room on March 31, when U.S. District Judge Edward Chen , writing that Noem鈥檚 decision 鈥渟macks of racism.鈥� As a result, they will keep their TPS protections while the case moves through the courts.
Noem has said that having Venezuelans in the country and accused them without proof of .
The judge鈥檚 ruling doesn鈥檛 affect the more than nationwide expected to lose their TPS protection on Aug. 3, 2025.
The expiration of TPS potentially affects 341,000 immigrants in Florida. But it doesn鈥檛 mean all of these people will leave the country. TPS rules allow immigrants to apply for a change of immigration status, and some will apply for asylum or student visas. Others will go underground.
Local economic effects
These policies won鈥檛 just affect Venezuelan and Haitian TPS holders personally. It will likely cause some big waves in the Florida economy.
The non-profit American Immigration Council, an immigrant advocacy group, estimates that 95% of TPS holders in Florida age 16 and older .
They paid approximately US$485.9 million in local and Florida state taxes, according to the same report.
Although the public often associates immigrants with work in the construction, agricultural and meatpacking industries, most are .
Fewer home health aides
Immigrants account for in Florida, according to the American Immigration Council.
Nationwide, direct care workers are immigrants, according to a policy brief from PHI, an advocacy group for elder care and disability service workers.
Not all of these workers are TPS holders, but an estimated caregivers are from Haiti. Additionally, the research from PHI suggests that the actual percentage of home health aides who are immigrants is likely higher, as many immigrant workers in this sector operate in the 鈥�.鈥� These workers receive direct payment from the people they work for, which makes their employment hard to track.
PHI projects that the long-term care sector in the U.S. will need to fill new direct care job openings by 2031 due to the country鈥檚 aging population.
School staff a concern
The public school system is another area where the sudden loss of TPS recipients will likely be deeply felt.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the third-largest school district in the country, is experiencing an . The district had nearly 700 education and support positions unfilled in August 2024, according to a district-by-district count done by the Florida Education Association.
鈥淚t is not only teachers,鈥� an administrator told me in March 2025, explaining that the vacancies are also among registrars, custodians, paraprofessionals and other roles. These 鈥渉igh stakes鈥� education jobs, as he described them to me, are difficult for Miami-Dade County schools to fill.
The Miami-Dade school district doesn鈥檛 report on the nationality of its employees 鈥� or their immigration status. But unfilled positions in the school district dropped after an , the administrator told me.
Losing these workers would likely mean South Florida鈥檚 and would worsen 鈥� making it increasingly difficult for families with school-age children, the elderly and individuals with special needs to access affordable essential services.
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