<\/p>\n
Vanessa says about the end of her TPS: \u2019I don\u2019t think I have words for how terrible it is because being a doctor is like my one dream for my entire life.\u2019<\/p>\n
Photo provided to CBS News Miami<\/p>\n
A South Florida woman who spent years preparing for a career in emergency medicine says the end of her Temporary Protected Status has left her unable to work and afraid to leave her home.<\/p>\n
The woman asked CBS News Miami to call her \u201cVanessa\u201d because of concerns about her immigration status. She said she and her father have barely left their South Florida home in weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I have words for how terrible it is because being a doctor is like my one dream for my entire life,\u201d Vanessa said.<\/p>\n
Vanessa came to the United States after surviving Haiti\u2019s devastating 2010 earthquake. She remembers being in the street when the earthquake struck and watching people around her die and suffer serious injuries. She said that experience helped drive her decision to pursue medicine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like I would not be helpless anymore if I were to go back and have all this schooling, all this knowledge, and be able to finish it and be able to give back when I get there and help,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Vanessa graduated from Florida International University, completed medical school, and entered a three-year emergency-medicine residency program at a South Florida hospital. She was completing the first year of her residency when she lost her TPS and thus her ability to work legally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have barely two years left, and they just pulled the rug out and said, \u2018No, you\u2019re done now,\u2019 \u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Vanessa said she had been treating patients in the ICU, responding to trauma cases and helping with pediatric emergencies. \u201cI can\u2019t work without finishing the training program,\u201d Vanessa said. \u201cI can\u2019t work anywhere, so even if I were to go to Haiti, I can\u2019t help them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa\u2019s father is an attorney who also served as a government official in Haiti. His TPS has also expired. He told CBS News Miami in Creole that he fears returning to Haiti because of gang violence and believes he could be targeted. He said a recent gang attack in Kenscoff killed dozens of people, including some of his friends.<\/p>\n
Vanessa\u2019s mother works at a nursing home. With a pending asylum case, she has a work permit allowing her to keep working \u2014 though she can still be detained by immigration officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day they\u2019re going out, they\u2019re also risking being detained,\u201d Vanessa said.<\/p>\n
Vanessa\u2019s youngest brother is a U.S.-born teenager \u2014 the only American citizen in the immediate family. She said her family has not told him the full extent of their immigration situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think my family wants to talk to him about this because, I mean, he\u2019s a child,\u201d Vanessa said.<\/p>\n
Vanessa said she would be more willing to return to Haiti if the country were safe, but she wants the opportunity to finish her residency first. She said she cannot complete that training in Haiti.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just have useless knowledge in your brain just sitting there,\u201d she said, describing what it feels like to be a doctor unable to complete her training.<\/p>\n
Vanessa said her South Florida hospital tried to help by applying for a work visa on her behalf, but the application was denied. She said the hospital is holding her residency position in hopes that her immigration situation changes and she can return to work.<\/p>\n
For now, Vanessa says she continues studying from home while waiting and hoping for the opportunity to return to the hospital and finish the career that she has spent years working toward.<\/p>\n