350,000 People Could ‘Lose Everything’ Overnight Thanks To Trump

A judge has blocked the Trump administration from revoking TPS status for Haitians in the U.S. They’re relieved – for now.

After living and working legally in the United States for more than six years, Carline was ready to essentially go into hiding.

She is one of 350,000 people who were on the brink of losing their legal status in the U.S. last week, as the Trump administration sought to revoke temporary protected status for Haitian nationals. After months of limbo, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., blocked the administration from ending the program — for now.

The ruling was “a relief,” said Carline, who is only being identified by her first name because she’s worried about being targeted by immigration officials. It was also likely the beginning of a long legal process that will leave Haitian immigrants in the U.S. on edge.

“We can go out, we can go to work, and we can continue on,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean everything is over.”

The Trump administration officially filed an appeal of the decision on Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The administration is hoping to take the case all the way to the highest court.

“Supreme Court, here we come,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, posted on X after the ruling. “Temporary means temporary and the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench.”

The Supreme Court weighed in on a different TPS case last year, allowing the administration’s termination of TPS for Venezuelans to go into effect.

TPS is a special status given to immigrants from countries that are facing civil unrest, political upheaval or a natural disaster. The program allows recipients to legally work and live in the United States without fear of deportation and requires them to reapply about every 18 months to keep their status. Haitians became eligible for TPS after a 2010 earthquake killed approximately 200,000 people and again in 2021 after Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated.

If their legal status is terminated, there will be untold consequences. Thousands of people, including kids, will be suddenly eligible for deportation — and the government has their addresses and employment information.

“When you lose TPS, you lose everything,” Jose Palma, a coordinator at the National TPS Alliance, an organization made up of legal aid, immigrant rights and labor groups, told HuffPost.

For Carline, everything might include her job, medical insurance and ability to drive. It might also include her child’s safety.

“I won’t drive if I don’t have papers,” she said. “I won’t have insurance either. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

She’s worried about losing her work permit — but also about immigration agents targeting her at her job as a certified nursing assistant at a hospital in suburban Washington, D.C.

“I was thinking about putting in my resignation early,” Carline said. “I don’t want to go to work and for them to come get me there.”

But she’s not sure what else she would do.

“They’re saying don’t go to work, try to find a job where they pay you cash under the table so at least you can survive,” Carline said about advice from immigrant advocates.

Carline, who first came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2019, switched to a student visa to study nursing. She applied for TPS because it was the only way she could legally work to provide for her 13-year-old son, who is a U.S. citizen through his other parent.

“When I saw the news about the 5-year-old, I told my son, ‘Don’t walk anywhere you’re not familiar with,’” Carline said, referring to Liam Conejo Ramos, a child whom agents detained in Minneapolis. The photo of Ramos, standing in front of a federal agent with an oversized hat and Spider-Man backpack, quickly went viral.

There are an estimated 260,000 children living with TPS holders.

“Many TPS recipients have been living in the U.S. for more than two decades,” Palma said. “We have mixed-status families, so the first consequence is breaking families apart.”

“They’re scared, they’re anxious, and they’re staying in their homes.”

– Jen Casto, an organizer and native of Springfield, Ohio

President Donald Trump has been targeting Haitians for years. During his first term, Haiti was among the countries he called “shitholes.” (He denied using the term for years, but admitted to it at a rally in December.)

Then, during the 2024 presidential campaign, a racist Facebook rumor about Haitians eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio, went viral. Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, both repeated the lie, even as Springfield dealt with bomb threats and school evacuations over the false claim.

Before the ruling last week, there were several reports that ICE was planning on beginning an operation in Springfield with Haitians as the target. Fears were mounting that the administration’s foray into Minneapolis could be replicated in Springfield. After all, ICE descended into Minnesota after Trump saw a viral video alleging massive financial fraud in Somali-run day cares. Since then, federal immigration agents there have killed two people, detained children, and forced people into hiding.

The anxiety in Springfield has been widespread.

“They’re scared, they’re anxious, and they’re staying in their homes,” Jen Casto, a local organizer and Springfield native, told HuffPost before the ruling.

Revoking TPS would be catastrophic for the city. “I think we’re gonna see a lot of displaced children who were born here starting in 2021,” Casto said. “What if both parents have TPS?” It’s unclear if the region’s social services would be able to handle a large influx of displaced children.

Lynn Tramonte, the executive director of Ohio Immigrant Alliance, said some recipients are still making plans about what to do with their children should the worst come to pass.

“People are figuring out, if I get deported, is it better to bring my kid with me to Haiti,” Tramonte said, “or do I leave them here with somebody I trust?”

“You can’t really take a full breath in,” she said. “You’re kind of living with a hammer over your head.”

The revocation of TPS would likely result in substantial hits to the economies and communities that rely on Haitian immigrants. TPS holders have contributed billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, and industries like construction and health care could suddenly be short of vital staff if Haitians lose TPS.

“There’s going to be a lot of mutual aid needed, at least initially,” Casto said. “We’re going to have a humanitarian crisis.

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