WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Advocates are searching for solutions to protect the immigration status of hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals in the U.S., but say their plans could still be a long shot.
Farah Larrieux, an entrepreneur who grew up in Haiti, has lived in the U.S. for 20 years. She had a pending asylum case that was halted after the Obama administration granted Haitian nationals Temporary Protected Status following a devastating earthquake in 2010.
That protection enabled Larrieux to build her marketing business in South Florida.
"My dream is to become the most successful Haitian woman entrepreneur of the world," Larrieux told WPTV in February 2026, while a U.S. District Court was still weighing arguments in a case that challenged the Trump administration's move to remove the TPS designation from Haiti and Syria.
The court would eventually side with the plaintiffs and rebuke the administration's actions in a scathing ruling.
I followed up with Larrieux after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the lower court's ruling, giving the Trump administration the authority to revoke TPS for Haitians.
"Now I have to reconsider everything — just to fight for my rights to exist. And this is for why? For what reason?" Larrieux said.
Larrieux said she is working with an immigration attorney on an asylum claim — a strategy many others are also pursuing.
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But Timothy Keohane, director of immigration legal services for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach, said asylum is not a guaranteed path.
"A lot of nervous, scared people [are] calling," Keohane said. "Asylum law is very specific in who will and will not qualify, so a lot of people aren't going to qualify for that claim."
Keohane was among more than a dozen advocates who stood outside the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach with Congresswoman Lois Frankel, a Democrat representing part of Palm Beach County, calling on the U.S. Senate to act on Senate Bill 4814.
"We cannot be a nation that turns our back on those who follow the law, work with dignity, and help build a strong community," Frankel said.
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Senate Bill 4814 would require the Department of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for TPS through 2029.
A companion bill passed the House before the Supreme Court's June 15 ruling, with 10 Republicans joining all Democrats in favor.
"This policy of ending the Haitian TPS is so cruel," Frankel told me after her news conference. "We will lose thousands of workers, valuable people, friends... When people can't pay their mortgage, what's going to happen there to the banks? To the mortgage holder? I mean, the ripple effect is unbelievable."
When asked whether she was optimistic the president would sign the Senate bill if it passed, Frankel said the outcome is not entirely in his hands.
"Well, he doesn't have to sign it. The question is, will he follow it? Will he veto it? Because something could become law without a signature," the congresswoman said. "Look, nothing makes me optimistic with our president, but let's take one step at a time."
The Department of Homeland Security has said Temporary Protected Status should be just that: temporary.
WPTV reached out to Senator Rick Scott and Senator Ashley Moody's offices to see where they stand on the bill. As of this reporting, we have not heard back from either of them.
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.