(The Center Square) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is making a last ditch effort to convince the Trump administration not to move ahead with its plans to end temporary immigration protections for Haitians, Syrians and other groups, warning of "human and economic" consequences.
In a letter to Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, Hochul said the "callousness of abruptly ending TPS for legally-present individuals" ... "will force New York State and local governments to sever the employment of hundreds of essential employees as soon as next week, putting their livelihoods – and potentially their safety – at risk."
"This impact is not limited to government workers and will be felt by private sector industries across our state," Hochul, a Democrat, said. "The sudden removal of these members of our workforce and our communities will impact critical services that New Yorkers rely on – with a particularly heavy impact on the healthcare industry, putting our seniors and other vulnerable New Yorkers at risk."
Hochul said many TPS holders can't go back to their countries "due to extreme instability, violence, and crises" and said those individuals "have made enormous contributions to our communities and our economy, and helped define the character of our state."
"By knowingly and cruelly forcing thousands of families to leave our country and return to their home countries, regardless of any ongoing or worsening humanitarian crises, the White House is committing a reckless and inhumane act," she wrote. "But it is not too late to reverse course."
A DHS spokesperson declined to comment on Hochul's letter, but defended the Trump administration's decision to end the TPS program.
"Temporary Protected Status is exactly that — temporary," the agency said in a statement. "For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent."
TPS was created as part of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act and grants migrants work authorization and protection from deportation if their country of origin is deemed unsafe due to armed conflict, natural disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions.”
Last year, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued an order reversing a move by then-President Joe Biden in 2024 to extend TPS for Haitians and other groups through February. New York is one of several Democratic-controlled states that sued to block the TPS expiration.
The Trump administration argues that TPS has been “exploited and abused” to allow more immigrants into the U.S. illegally and has accused the former Biden administration of attempting to “tie its hands” by extending Haiti’s protected status by 18 months.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority overturned lower court decisions by federal judges in New York and Washington, D.C., that had halted the Trump administration’s move to terminate temporary protected status for more than 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,100 from Syria.
Last week, a federal judge in Massachusetts lifted a pause on removing TPS for Somali immigrants after rejecting a lawsuit claiming that the Homeland Security Secretary lacked authority to end TPS status.
Commented