BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – New federal actions from the Biden administration are halting immigrants from seeking asylum at the border, but what does that mean for Vermont’s refugees?
The president’s executive action won’t stop folks already in Vermont or crossing the northern border from seeking asylum, but for Haitians who have Temporary Protected Status, their time legally in the U.S. may be running out.
Political unrest and gang violence have rocked Haiti since a coup in February destabilized the nation, leading thousands to flee.
“Haiti has just been this perfect storm of conditions that create what we call push factors, that force migration,” said Jill Martin Diaz, a lawyer for many who have come to Vermont, providing free immigration services to humanitarian status-seekers in Vermont.
“Right now we’re in the most recent period of TPS for Haitians and that period is set to expire later this summer. Advocates are calling on President Biden to redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status,” Diaz said.
With Temporary Protected Status, the Department of Homeland Security grants Haitians employment authorization documents. But with just a few weeks before TPS status runs out for Haitians, their Vermont community fears for the future.
“It will be very difficult for them,” said Nixon Ferdinand, who left Haiti for the U.S. in 2019.
Ferdinand lived with his mother in Florida before resettling in Vermont, where he’s embedded himself within the 200 or so Haitians in the community, most of whom he says have Temporary Protected Status.
“Those who are here are even worried now they can’t even return because of the current unstable situation. And people are losing hope,” Ferdinand said.
Diaz and Ferdinand are calling on the Vermont Legislature to request the federal government extend Haiti’s TPS status. With their employment authorization and Vermont’s statewide staffing shortages, they say Haitians have been able to fill those roles.
“Immigrants are the future of Vermont,” Diaz said.
Ferdinand’s son is among them. He recently graduated from Winooski High School and is studying at Vermont State University to be a nurse.
“I love Vermont… because the community,” Ferdinand said. “For me, my kids, there is a lot of opportunity in Vermont for them.”
Temporary Protected Status for Haitian refugees ends Aug. 3. If not renewed, Haitians in Vermont who have not applied for other routes of citizenship will lose legal status to live and work in Vermont.