Mayor Mamdani meets with Haitian leaders as TPS protections end

NEW YORK — As Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti comes to an effective end this week, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani met Wednesday with immigrant advocates, including Haitian community leaders, to discuss how the city can support families affected. 

Representatives from the Haitian Bridge Alliance and Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP), a newly founded coalition of affected communities, participated in the discussion to prepare or assist with the federal policy change. 

After the meeting, Mamdani reaffirmed New York City’s commitment to immigrant communities in a message posted on social media in English, Haitian Creole and Spanish.

“As thousands of our Haitian neighbors lose Temporary Protected Status this week, and as reports continue of ICE terrorizing immigrant communities, New York City will say what it always has: you belong here,” the mayor wrote.

Mamdani also encouraged immigrants to seek legal assistance through the city’s Immigration Support hotline at 800-354-0365 and its Know Your Rights: Federal Immigration Enforcement (ICE) site. As leaders from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) have been saying around the city, he emphasized that free, safe and confidential immigration legal services are available regardless of immigration status.

Details of the meeting are not being shared due to the sensitive nature of the discussion that might leave community members open to targeting by immigration enforcement.

The meeting at City Hall was one of scores taking place around the city and country to address the long-coming termination. The Trump administration sought to revoke TPS for Haitians Feb. 3, to strip them of their legal status so they could be subject to deportations. But, a federal district judge issued an injunction blocking the revocation, saying the government had not followed procedure and that reasons for ending the program reeked of racial animus. 

The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which sided with the government last month. While waiting for the district court to lift the revocation injunction, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services extended the work permits for TPS holders through July 24. On Monday, the district judge lifted the injunction.