Actions

TPS ends for Haitians and Syrians: What's next for Palm Beach County residents

WPTV

A Haitian restaurant owner in Palm Beach County speaks to WPTV reporter Joel Lopez about the end of TPS for thousands of Haitian residents.

By: Joel Lopez

Posted

and last updated

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Years of Temporary Protected Status came to an end Monday for Haitians and Syrians nationwide, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without legal status in the United States.

"It means that if you have a job, you can no longer work, it means that you were once legal and now you have to go into the shadow," immigration attorney Byrnes Guillaume said.

WATCH BELOW: TPS ending for thousands of Haitian families

Temporary protection status ending for thousands of Haitians

Approximately 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians held TPS nationwide before the program's expiration.

Palm Beach County is home to one of the largest Haitian populations in both Florida and the country.

The county ranks third statewide and nationally, with an estimated 68,400 Haitian residents, behind Broward County at 86,100 and Miami-Dade County at 78,800.

It is unclear how many of those residents were on TPS locally.

WPTV Investigates

Local advocates push Senate to restore Haitian TPS

Jamie Ostroff

Farah Larrieux, a Haitian woman who has lived in the United States for 16 years under TPS built her own marketing company for minorities, with a goal of becoming the most successful Haitian woman entrepreneur in the world. She is now working to obtain asylum protections after the program's end.

"Now I have to reconsider everything just to fight for my right to exist," Larrieux said.

Guillaume said the end of TPS puts families in an especially difficult position.

"For people with American-born kids, what are 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?" Guillaume said.

Supporters of ending TPS argue the program was always intended to be temporary and that conditions in Haiti and Syria have improved since TPS was first granted.

But a Haitian restaurant owner in Palm Beach County said returning home has never felt more dangerous.

"I pray for the government of the United States to help those people," the restaurant owner said. "It's just killing our dreams, our passions."

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.

Read more of WPTV's coverage below: