New York needs Haitian workers on TPS

On Aug 11, 2026

Aug. 11, 2026, 3:01 a.m. ET

The termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians threatens the jobs of many who work in the Hudson Valley.
Haiti is experiencing extreme instability, with the U.S. State Department issuing a “Do Not Travel” warning due to crime and unrest.
Rep. Mike Lawler opposes ending TPS for Haitians, citing the dangerous conditions in their home country.
Immigration attorneys are exploring alternative legal statuses for Haitians, such as asylum or employment-based visas.

Immigration attorney Jeff Binder got a phone call from the owner of an auto parts distribution business. He had a warehouse staff that worked hard, were conscientious and they earned his trust.

But he had one problem. They were migrants from Haiti and the Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haitians was soon going to be terminated. He wanted to know what could be done to keep his staff in the country and working.

One by one. each worker met with Binder to seek solutions that could transition them from TPS to an alternative form of relief.

Similarly, Rep. Mike Lawler, the Rockland County Republican, was doing outreach in the Haitian community. Lawler’s district includes Spring Valley, which is home to a large Haitian population. According to the New York Health Foundation Rockland County’s Haitian population is at least 10,000 people.

Many of the Hudson Valley’s hospitals, assisted living, nursing homes and direct care facilities for people with disabilities are staffed by a significant percentage of Haitians. Work authorization expired for thousands of Haitian Temporary Protected Status holders, on Monday, July 27.

Lawler’s office spoke with care facilities with a high number of Haitian employees to encourage them to apply for alternative status before the program was terminated.

Lawler has supported much of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, but when it comes to sending Haitians back to an instable, impoverished country that’s run by warlords and their gangs, Lawler and Trump part ways.

He says Trump is doing more than Biden did to go after the gangs, but he told me, “Ending TPS before the gang problem is solved is foolish.”

SCOTUS says it’s legal but it doesn’t make it right

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in late June that Trump has the legal standing to terminate TPS at will. Now he has. But why? Haiti wasn’t sending us their murderers, rapists and drug dealers as Trump likes to characterize much of the wave of undocumented immigrants that President Joe Biden’s administration welcomed into the country.

“The SCOTUS ruling meant that the president has the to end Haitian TPS. Ending TPS for Haitians was stupid since the situation on the ground is a disaster,” Lawler told me.

Haiti has been in shambles since the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left another 2.5 million homeless.

There is a vacuum of political leadership and control of the streets has been taken over by warlords and murderous gangs.

The U.S. State Department on July 10, 2026, issued a “level 4-Do Not Travel” warning regarding Haiti. The first line on the website reads, “Do not travel to Haitidue to the risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and limited health care.”

The warning goes on to say, “Violent crime is rampant in Haiti, especially in Port-au-Prince. There has been an increase in gangs, organized crime and terrorist activities.” listing robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, and kidnappings for ransom as common incidents.

The website describes the gang warfare saying, “escalation of fighting between armed groups has led to a rise in random gunfire incidents. There is risk of being struck by stray bullets, even for people not directly involved in the violence.”

“Local law enforcement has an extremely limited ability to respond to serious crimes, particularly outside Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien.” the warning read.

Trump proves he is what his critics say he is

Trump in his signature, classy use of the language called Haiti a, “s—hole country”. Then he and Vice President J.D. Vance pushed the idiocy that Haitians in Ohio were stealing family pets as a food supply. During a debate with then presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Trump said, “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,”

The absurdity of that claim is of course laughable. But the reality of Trump’s termination of TPS with the intention of sending Haitian’s currently living and working in the U.S. back to hellish chaos of their home country is simply cruel.

Haitians who are deported back to Haiti — especially those who have been in the U.S. for an extended period — face tremendous danger, even compared to Haitians who have remained in the country.

Perceived wealth makes returning Haitians targets. Gangs and criminal networks prey on returnees because they assume (often incorrectly) that they have money or family and contacts in the U.S. who will pay for their release.

Regarding the common use of kidnapping for ransom in Haiti, Trump’s state department says, “Kidnapping is widespread. U.S. citizen victims of kidnapping have been hurt or killed. Kidnappers target and attack vehicles, including commercial busses. They can also attack convoys. Kidnappers often demand ransoms. Ransom demands are typically in the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Lawler pushed the president to abandon his plan to terminate TPS but to no avail.

The congressman even signed a discharge petition to force a vote in the House to continue TPS. He sponsored the legislation with his Democratic colleague, Rep/ Laura Gillen, who represents New York’s 4th Congressional District on Long Island.

They got the votes they needed in the House but couldn’t rally enough Republican support to move it the through the Senate.

Binder, the immigration attorney, told me there are several types of status changes that he uses to try to transfer TPS immigrants to an alternative status. They include:

Seeking asylum, a family-based claim generally meaning they married an American
Employment, an employer can petition for extending a work visa
Humanitarian, this is very discretionary which under the Trump administration almost always means “no”
Age, also known as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and
Violence against women or VAWA, for women who are victims of violent crime

Under the Trump administration, most of these applications are denied but with the backlog of immigration cases that exists, a status change can at least buy TPS migrants some time. Maybe even until after Trump is pout of office and a more compassionate president is in office.

What comes next for lower Hudson Valley Haitans?

I asked Binder what TPS Haitians can expect now that their protection has been removed.

“Most likely nothing unless they have contact with the law,” he said. “Then they’re in tremendous jeopardy. They get fingerprinted and their info is put into the state system then gets into the FBI system. That status will get them on ICE’s radar. Then if there’s an enforcement action in the area sometime down the road, a knock on the door is going to come.”

I generally support a stronger immigration enforcement system. The borders should be closed to those attempting to enter the country illegally and if someone has committed a crime while in the U.S. they should be subject to deportation in most cases.

But I agree with Lawler. Sending hard working men and women who care for our most vulnerable and elderly family members and friends and keep our small business operating back to Haiti is stupid and morally bankrupt.

Trump has proven that his immigration enforcement policies go beyond keeping Americans safe. It is about wielding power against immigrants we should be helping just because he’s mean and he can.

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