FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 Supporters, including some Temporary Protected Status holders, marched with an urgent message through Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Wednesday, calling for TPS to be extended for Haitian nationals.<\/p>\n
Come Tuesday, legally authorized Haitian TPS holders will no longer be able to work. Advocates say the change comes with devastating risks for families, workplaces and communities.<\/p>\n
Farah Larrieux, who has lived in the U.S. since 2005 and is a TPS holder, said she hasn\u2019t returned to Haiti since 2018. She said the country is still not safe to move back to.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very focused on what\u2019s going on in Haiti. I spoke up against the decided government. And also the terrorist groups. So from there, it\u2019s like a death sentence going back to Haiti,\u201d Larrieux said.<\/p>\n
Union leaders warn the move could hurt the healthcare field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have management calling me everywhere asking what the union can do to help them,\u201d Margarette Nerette, vice president for long-term care at 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, said.<\/p>\n
Officials say thousands of Haitian TPS holders work in nursing homes across South Florida, caring for seniors and filling critical healthcare roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven the people (who) have their loved one at home. If God bless(es) you, you have your mother, your grandma, you can care for at home, but you need help because you have to work, right?\u201d said Amina Dubuisson, the past president of the Haitian American Nurses Association.<\/p>\n
Among the crowd was U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Florida. The Haitian-American congresswoman is calling on Department of Homeland Security leaders and the White House to extend TPS for Haitian nationals or pursue other options.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s try to defer deportation and make sure that the administration actually understands the economic impact that Haitian TPS holders actually have,\u201d Cherfilus-McCormick said. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve been having enough of that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, Haitian TPS holders remain hopeful that something will change at the last minute.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still have big dreams to see myself going forward,\u201d Larrieux said. \u201cAnd instead of that, it\u2019s like they are taking away all my opportunities in my life. And that\u2019s why it\u2019s stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Airport officials say that out of the 15,000 employees working at FLL, about 150 are Haitian TPS holders who could be impacted. <\/p>\n
The companies that hired workers to staff concession stands or work as wheelchair-pushers would be responsible for filling those positions if they become vacant.<\/p>\n
Local 10 News contacted spokespeople for Miami International Airport, seeking its numbers, but had not yet received them as of this article\u2019s publication.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n
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