South Florida immigration attorney Vanessa Joseph says Haitian immigrants are making inquiries to her office like never before, worried and fearful they may be forced to leave the U.S. after the Trump administration announced last week it鈥檚 terminating Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for 500,000 Haitians in early September.
鈥淭here's great fear out there, but people should not wait until the last minute,鈥� advises Joseph, an immigration attorney and , where about one in three residents are of Haitian descent. 鈥淭hey really need to seek legal advice right now.鈥�
In a wide-ranging interview with SA国际传谋, the Haitian-American lawyer also said Haitian TPS holders should not place all their hope on lawsuits filed in federal court around the country challenging Trump鈥檚 move to end TPS.
鈥淚t would be lovely that we had a blanket solution for this and that we could just rely on the courts, but unfortunately that's not the case right here, right now,鈥� Joseph said. 鈥淚n practical terms, when we're thinking about TPS ending, a lot of Haitian immigrants are not going to have an immediate venue of lawful status for them to just enter into.鈥�
There are, in fact, several lawsuits pending in federal court in New York, Maryland and northern California to keep TPS in place.
On Tuesday, Haitian TPS holders breathed a sigh of relief when a federal judge in New York ruled in favor of a group of Haitian immigrants and immigrant advocates who sued the federal government for changing the TPS expiration date.
The federal judge ruled that the Trump administration decision to move up the TPS expiration date 鈥� by at least five months 鈥� is unlawful. The previous Biden administration had extended Haiti鈥檚 TPS status through at least Feb. 3, 2026, due to gang violence, political unrest, a major earthquake in 2021 and several other factors, according to court documents.
READ MORE: Federal judge blocks Trump administration from ending TPS for many Haitians
Joseph told SA国际传谋 the current political and social chaos in Haiti is should be evidence enough that TPS must extended 鈥� not terminated.
鈥淚 think it's completely at odds with reality, with what all of us are seeing, right? Because if Haiti were truly safe and improved, then why would we be telling Americans not to travel there?鈥� said Joseph.
The U.S. State Department has warned Americans to avoid travel to the country.
She told SA国际传谋 that the situation in Haiti continues to worsen, saying the extreme violence and widespread gang violence has turned the Caribbean island nation into one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
鈥淵ou have a [Haitian] government that's quite literally in collapse,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's completely false that conditions have improved in Haiti, and I think Haitians on the ground in Haiti are experiencing one of the worst periods of instability in decades.鈥�
In its decision to end Haitian TPS, a DHS spokesperson said last week that 鈥渢he environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home."
TPS allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.
Like other Haitian immigrant advocates, Joseph says Haitian TPS holders have been contributing to the U.S. economy for years. 鈥淭hey're not a burden on our communities,鈥� she said.
Asked about Haitians leaving the U.S. on their own by self-deporting, Joseph says it鈥檚 an option she hears talked about in the Haitian immigrant community.
鈥淚 think people have been hearing that because you can get some money to move,鈥� she said.
The Trump administration announced in May that it would pay $1,000 to immigrants who are in the United States illegally and return to their home country voluntarily.
鈥淭hey'd rather just move and just let everything go. And again, I don't think that that's often the only solution or that's the solution that they just should just take without, again, consulting with an immigration attorney because there could be implications," said Joseph.
鈥淭he idea is, well, if I self-deport, then they'll allow me back into the country through another mechanism. We don't know that to be true. We do not know what will happen tomorrow.鈥�
