TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 A federal judge has blocked the Department of Homeland Security from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians, but the lack of a clear expiration date is now creating real-world consequences for workers in Florida.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Faith Academy Nursing School in Tampa serves aspiring nurses of all backgrounds, but administrators say some of their Haitian graduates working in health care can\u2019t renew driver\u2019s licenses or work authorization
\n
A federal judge has blocked the Department of Homeland Security from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians, but the lack of a clear expiration date is now creating real-world consequences for workers in Florida
\n
The school trains certified nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses \u2014 positions already in short supply
\n
Attorneys say in previous TPS cases, states issued temporary licenses while waiting for federal guidance \u2014 but without direction this time, many workers remain in limbo with no timeline for resolution<\/p>\n
Faith Academy Nursing School in Tampa serves aspiring nurses of all backgrounds, but administrators say some of their Haitian graduates working in health care can\u2019t renew their driver\u2019s licenses or work authorization because verification systems have not been updated. Without valid identification, many cannot legally drive to work and, in some cases, cannot continue working at all.<\/p>\n
The school trains certified nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses, positions already in short supply<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure for Faith Academy to have them\u00a0 because at this time the health care industry needs more people,\u201d said\u00a0Faith Academy Director\u00a0Marie Riviere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riviere says the uncertainty is now keeping some students and graduates from continuing their training or employment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the license, they are unable to come to school,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Feb. 2, 2026, a federal judge blocked the Department of Homeland Security from terminating TPS for Haiti. However, state agencies still lack updated federal guidance, leaving document renewals stalled.<\/p>\n
Immigration attorney John Dubrule says the court order created a legal gray area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe injunction has no time period established. So apparently, as far as they\u2019re concerned, you know, they (DMV) can\u2019t issue a driver\u2019s license indefinitely,\u201d Dubrule said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instructor Marie Charles says losing a license affects nearly every part of daily life.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need your driver\u2019s license to do everything,\u201d said Charles. \u201cAlso, for the renewal of your lease, you need your driver\u2019s license, everything you need, your driver\u2019s license to be able to drive to and from work to basically wherever you go. That\u2019s your ID. So removing your driver\u2019s licenses, removing your ID.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charles says the issue extends beyond healthcare.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost immigrants, they are in the healthcare system. They are working in the restaurants. They\u2019re working. Most of them are housekeepers in major companies. Who is going to do this work?\u201d Chares said.<\/p>\n
The Department of Homeland Security sent Spectrum Bay News 9 a statement saying in part:<\/p>\n
\u201cHaiti\u2019s TPS was granted following an earthquake that took place over 15 years ago, it was never intended to be a de facto asylum program, yet that\u2019s how previous administrations have used it for decades. TPS for Haiti was ended by Secretary Noem. While there is currently litigation on this termination, DHS continues to urge Haitians here under TPS to self-deport immediately using the CBP home app.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the uncertainty, the school says affected students will be welcomed back once documentation issues are resolved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe contribute by helping others, that is our goal,\u201d said Riviere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Faith Academy says it does not receive federal funding and that students pay tuition without government assistance.<\/p>\n
Attorneys say in previous TPS cases, states issued temporary licenses while waiting for federal guidance \u2014 but without direction this time, many workers remain in limbo with no timeline for resolution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 A federal judge has blocked the Department of Homeland Security from ending Temporary Protected Status…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[767,3948,770,2375,571,276,115,772,135,137,136,835],"class_list":{"0":"post-152537","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-app-community","9":"tag-app-health","10":"tag-community-news","11":"tag-fadia-patterson","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-hillsborough-county","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-on-air-ticker-article","16":"tag-tampa","17":"tag-tampa-headlines","18":"tag-tampa-news","19":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152537","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=152537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}