STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Any day now, many Haitians and Syrians lose their ability to work in the United States.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
That's because the Trump administration won a Supreme Court ruling that should allow it to revoke temporary protected status for more than 300,000 people. The status lets people live legally in the United States if their countries are extremely dangerous. Some of the 300,000 affected Haitians live in Springfield, Ohio, which the administration made part of its 2024 campaign. Vice President Vance attacked the Springfield immigrants in his home state, while President Trump made a false statement about eating dogs.
INSKEEP: WYSO reporter Kathryn Mobley has been reporting in Springfield, Ohio. Good morning.
KATHRYN MOBLEY, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK. I guess Haitians and Syrians have known that this day could be coming. As soon as today, they could be losing the ability to work, and that's a prelude to being actually deported. How are people taking this news?
MOBLEY: Well, in Springfield, there are about 15,000 Haitians - roughly 15,000 Haitians, and many of them are on TPS. Emotions are varied. Some people are sad. Some are angry. Others are very confused. However, overall, many are optimistic, and they believe something positive is going to happen to help them. They told me they expect some kind of relief to either come from the U.S. government or from God.
Now, today is a big challenge because, as you were just saying, work permits are now expiring. These work permits are connected to a person's TPS. Their driver's license is then connected to their work permit. Thus, once a person loses their TPS, they lose their ability to legally work and drive in their community. And this definitely makes it very difficult for individuals to support their families, to earn an income and, you know, to pay their bills.
I spoke with Rose-Thamar Joseph. She had TPS. She's also an asylum seeker, and now she's very anxious about driving openly on the roads in the city.
ROSE-THAMAR JOSEPH: My driver's license is valid through 2029, but I still have to be cautious being on the street if I don't have any needs. I will be cautious.
INSKEEP: I'm interested in hearing you say that people still have confidence and hope - hope in God, perhaps. And I do know that the Supreme Court ruling - I mean, it's been made. It's final. It's done. There are some details for lower courts to work out. But is there any way that people could get out of this?
MOBLEY: Well, according to the Department of Homeland Security, no. I reached out to the department for a comment, and in an email, DHS directed me to a statement recently made by the department's general counsel, James Percival, during an interview on Fox News.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JAMES PERCIVAL: President Trump has been trying to end these programs since 2017. So these people have been on notice for nine years that this day is coming. So what we would say now is it's closing time, which means you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. The good news is, it's not too late to get a $2,600 check and a free flight home.
INSKEEP: Are people preparing to leave?
MOBLEY: Actually, Steve, there's no mass exodus. People right now are sequestering in their homes and neighbors or non-Haitian immigrants, they're coming in to help. They're delivering food. They're delivering groceries. In Springfield, there's a place called the Haitian Support Center, and they've been fielding calls from people who have questions about their immigration papers, what they can do. Meanwhile, many nonprofits are encouraging these individuals who used to have TPS to apply for asylum, but that's a very slow process, and it's not any protection from being deported.
INSKEEP: Kathryn Mobley of WYSO, who's been reporting in Springfield, Ohio. Thanks so much.
MOBLEY: Thank you, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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