Outrage grows after US Supreme Court clears way to end TPS for Haitians
Lawmakers and civil rights groups condemned the 6-3 ruling, which they say exposes more than 350,000 Haitians to deportation to a country the US itself deems too dangerous to visit.
NEW YORK, United States. Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks on Friday, June 27, joined fellow Democrats in condemning the US Supreme Court’s decision allowing the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and Syrians living in the US.
Speaking on the Capitol steps in Washington, Meeks, who represents the Fifth Congressional District in Queens, said Haiti and Syria remain “dangerous, and these families deserve safety and the opportunity to legally contribute to our economy.”
“Haitians are an essential part of the Southeast Queens community,” he said. “They are our neighbours, co-workers, caregivers, small business owners, faith leaders, students and service members.”
The ruling
In the 6-3 majority decision, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr wrote that the federal law at issue was clear and dismissed claims that the administration’s decision was driven by anti-Black and anti-Haitian bias, saying the statements cited “could rest on race-neutral justifications.”
Writing for the three dissenting justices, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the president’s statements about Haitians “fairly shout, in their racial undertones and overtones alike, that race entered into the president’s resolve to remove Haitians from this country.”
Reaction in New York
Haitian-born City Council Member Mercedes Narcisse said the court had “cleared the way to deport 350,000 Haitians back to a country our own State Department calls too dangerous to visit.” Speaking at a rally in lower Manhattan, she added: “No one should be deported to their death.”
Josue “Josh” Pierre, a Haitian-born Democratic District Leader in Flatbush, called the decision “deeply personal” and said it created uncertainty for families who have lived and worked in the US for years.
Civil rights groups
The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) said the case, Trump v. Miot, reached the Supreme Court after a federal district court in Washington blocked the termination. “We strongly and unequivocally condemn this decision,” said LDF assistant counsel Brittany Carter.
NAACP president Derrick Johnson called the ruling “a devastating betrayal of Haitian families.” The NAACP said Haitian TPS holders add nearly US$6bn a year to the US economy and warned that an estimated 25,000 US citizen children could be pushed into poverty if their parents lose the right to work.
