Employers Lay Off Haitian TPS Workers Amid Legal Dispute Over Program's End

Employers across the East Coast and Midwest have reportedly begun laying off Haitian workers after the Department of Homeland Security alerted them this week that it considered Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for roughly 350,000 Haitian immigrants "terminated, effective" immediately, according to a single report published by haitienmarche.com and attributed to reporter Silvia Foster-Frau. The firings come despite no lower-court order implementing a Supreme Court decision that granted the administration permission to end the program, which the high court said could end Monday. Attorneys for Haitian TPS holders, including Geoffrey Pipoly, argue protections should remain until a lower court formally recognizes the ruling. Union leaders at SEIU 32BJ said nursing homes terminated hundreds of workers, while contractors at airports in Fort Lauderdale and Boston cut janitors, cabin cleaners and wheelchair attendants. Florida schools reportedly fired landscapers, bus drivers and other staff, and dozens of New York City security guards were terminated then rehired amid confusion. The Broward County Aviation Department said 132 Haitian TPS holders worked at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport as of Monday. A DHS spokesperson accused "activist lower court judges" of defying the Supreme Court. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) called the decision a "mistake." TPS was first granted to Haitians in 2010 after a devastating earthquake. Details remain developing and single-sourced.