FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals is set to end Tuesday, and across South Florida, concern is growing for those who could soon lose government approval to live and work in the United States.<\/p>\n
For 27 weeks, people have gathered outside the immigration detention center known as \u201cAlligator Alcatraz,\u201d praying for detainees inside. This weekend, the focus also turned to Haitian TPS holders facing an uncertain future.<\/p>\n
Haitian American Leonie Hermantin attended with members of her church.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very uplifting to know that we weren\u2019t the only ones concerned about what we\u2019re anticipating is going to happen in the next few days,\u201d Hermantin said.<\/p>\n
On This Week in South Florida with Glenna Milberg, Haitian TPS holder Farah Larrieux shared her fears as the deadline approaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m ready to face ICE — to stop me on the street, stop me at my house,\u201d Larrieux said. \u201cMy life is in limbo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saturday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was asked whether the administration is considering reversing course.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny individual with TPS expiring has the opportunity to appeal or explore other programs they may qualify for,\u201d Noem said. \u201cThey have several months to do that and should reach out to the State Department or Homeland Security for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Larrieux said she has been trying to explore other legal options but says the process is difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey make it difficult for us to apply,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Hermantin said legal representation is often required and not always accessible.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the sort of appeal you need to be represented by an attorney. You need advocates, and we do have strong, it\u2019s not enough,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat she\u2019s said is not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., is considering an emergency injunction request that would halt the Feb. 3 deadline. If the judge sides with the administration, Larrieux says she plans to keep fighting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will fight it,\u201d she said. \u201cMy attorney and I will also look into applying for asylum. I had an immigration status before.\u201d<\/p>\n
A decision from the judge could come as soon as Monday.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals is set to end Tuesday, and across South…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":{"0":"post-140223","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-lauderdale","8":"tag-fort-lauderdale","9":"tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","10":"tag-fort-lauderdale-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}