End Of Temporary Status Could Mean Haitian Immigrants Have To Leave U.S.

The Trump administration announced last night that Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haitians in the United States will expire on July 22, 2019. That means that nearly 5,000 Haitians living in Massachusetts and almost 60,000 Haitians across the country could be affected.

The program has allowed eligible Haitians to live and work legally in the U.S. because of unsafe conditions in their home country. Senior administration officials say that conditions on the ground in Haiti have improved significantly since the 2010 earthquake that prompted the country's TPS status.

Correction: We incorrectly stated on air that U.S. citizens may be able to sponsor extended relatives to stay in the U.S. That is incorrect. U.S. citizens may only sponsor parents, siblings, spouses and children. We regret the error. The audio has been updated to reflect this correction.

Shanoon Dooling, WBUR reporter. She tweets @sdooling.