Mayor Mamdani says he urged Trump to restore Haitian immigration protections
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Monday he urged President Donald Trump in a phone call to restore humanitarian protections ended by the White House that allowed thousands of Haitians nationals in New York City and across the country to legally live and work in the United States.
“I spoke with the president and made it very clear that this is something of immense importance to this city, to our economy, and to the welfare of all those who call the city home,“ Mamdani said at an unrelated press conference. He provided no indication of any response by Trump or when the phone call occurred.
Asked for comment, Lauren Bis, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, issued a statement that suggested no policy change was imminent. The Trump administration let the program, known as Temporary Protected Status, expire for Haitians on July 27, and a federal district court officially affirmed the decision on August 5.
“For decades, this program has been abused by Democrats as a de facto amnesty program to allow foreigners to remain in our country forever,” Bis said in the statement. “The president will continue to enforce our nation’s laws and put Americans first.”
The TPS program, designated to foreign nationals whose home countries are deemed to dangerous to return to, has allowed 300,000 Haitians across the country, including 40,000 in New York state, to legally live and work in the United States. Haiti has been hobbled for years by natural disasters, deep poverty and gang violence. The U.S. State Department has issued a “Do Not Travel” advisory for the country “due to the risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and limited health care.”
The New York City government on Friday terminated the employment of more than a dozen Haitian employees with TPS, most of them working in the city’s hospital system, according to a City Hall spokesperson. Mamdani said City Hall was compelled to act after the Trump administration ended the protections.
“The City of New York was forced by federal law, as recently decided by the Supreme Court (in a June decision), to review the work authorization of Haitian TPS holders and separate from any employees who have not established alternative paths to legal work,” Mamdani said in a statement on Friday.
The end of TPS has left nursing homes and homecare facilities across the state scrambling to fill vacant positions, as Haitians make up a significant portion of the healthcare and direct care workforce in the state. At once, the White House is being pressured by Republicans in Congress to speed up deportations, the New York Times reported.
The city has offered terminated employees free legal consultations to help them obtain other forms of immigration relief and work authorization, and assistance navigating health insurance for them and their families, among other resources, Mamdani added.
Mamdani told reporters on Monday he urged Trump to restore the protections or grant the terminated TPS holders another protection called Deferred Enforced Departure, which would shield them from deportation.
This story was updated with additional comment.