PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with President Donald Trump's administration, eliminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of people from Haiti and Syria.
WATCH BELOW: 'I do think lives will be at risk,' Attorney Byrnes Guillaume tells WPTV's Joel Lopez
That decision leaves hundreds of thousands suddenly at risk of deportation, including many right here in South Florida.
Temporary Protected Status allows foreign citizens already in the United States to stay, work, and raise their families while their home countries are dealing with turmoil — whether from natural disasters, political unrest, or violence.
But for Haitians and Syrians, that protection is coming to an end.
In Riviera Beach, Stecko Dulcio has been serving up Haitian cuisine at his restaurant for five and a half years.
“Do you have TPS status right now?” WPTV reporter Joel Lopez asked him.
“No, thank God I’m a citizen,” Dulcio replied. “I’m here, I can say I’m safe. I got a job, I take care of my family, we live in peace. Haiti — I love Haiti — but at this moment I don’t love Haiti, [it’s] too dangerous. The political in Haiti is upside down.”
National Politics
Supreme Court lets Trump end deportation protections for Haitians, Syrians
Dulcio knows many friends with TPS and worries for their future.
“What kind of impact do you think that’s going to have on the Haitian community here?” Lopez asked.
“Oh my God, that’s going to be a disaster,” Dulcio said. “Not only are their lives is in danger, and even [if] they go they don't get killed, but they’re going to have a miserable life, because there’s no work, no job, and they lose everything they have.”
He also said gangs have taken over Haiti, claiming houses, controlling transportation, and fueling violence.
Officials argue TPS was designed only as short‑term relief during crises, and claim conditions in Haiti and Syria have improved enough to no longer justify it — a point advocates strongly dispute.
The administration says the Department of Homeland Security has sole discretion to determine when protections end and that courts should not interfere.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, Florida has the largest Haitian immigrant population in the United States.
Palm Beach County ranks No. 3 statewide and nationally:
- Broward County: 86,100
- Miami‑Dade County: 78,800
- Palm Beach County: 68,400
“Eliminating TPS, does that mean they’re facing deportation?” Lopez asked Attorney Byrnes Guillaume, who is Haitian and represents many people in danger of losing TPS.
“Well yeah, it means that they have no status,” Guillaume said. “It means that if you have a job you no longer are able to work, it means that you were once legal and now you have to go in the shadow. For people with American‑born kids, what you going to do, are you going to leave the kids here or are you going to take them to Haiti — a country they’ve never known? I do think lives will be at risk."
The ruling impacts roughly 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians nationwide.
Guillaume said no timeline on deportations has been set.
“Pray to the government of the United States to do something to help those people,” Dulcio urged.
Haiti and Syria are the latest countries to lose TPS — since January of last year, DHS has ended protections for people from more than 13 countries.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
