(CNN) — Sabine French says she’s in denial.
In a matter of days, her 91-year-old mother may lose the caregiver who’s played a vital role in her daily life for the last three years.
The work permits issued to hundreds of thousands of Haitians who’ve had Temporary Protected Status in the United States are set to expire soon, after a Supreme Court ruling last month upheld the Trump administration’s decision to end Haitians’ protections under the program.
The Trump administration has called the court’s ruling a “tremendous win,” arguing that TPS designations that provided deportation protections and work permits for citizens of Haiti and other countries were always meant to be temporary.
“For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement this week.
“The Trump Administration is restoring integrity to the immigration system by ensuring that individuals who no longer qualify for TPS either pursue another lawful immigration status, voluntarily depart using the Department’s available return assistance, or face removal in accordance with federal law.”
But for months, elder care industry leaders have been sounding the alarm about the particularly significant hit their workforce will take if Haitians who’ve been on TPS no longer have the permits allowing them to work legally in the US.
Revoking those protections simply doesn’t make sense, according to French. She says her mom, who lives in Queens, New York, and struggles with mobility issues and vision loss, is terrified of losing the help of her home care aide. The caregiver is a Haitian woman in her 60s who came to the US after the 2010 earthquake.
Finding a caring and responsible aide who could communicate with her Haitian-born mom in Creole has been a game-changer for their family, French says. And now, she says, the possibility of losing a key part of their support system is devastating.
“I can’t really believe that this will happen,” says French, an immigration advocate and consultant in New York City. “It’s like, why? It’s like firing your best worker for no apparent reason.”
CNN spoke with French this week about what the looming uncertainty means for her family and what she wishes more Americans understood about the situation. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How does the home care aide help your mom? What does she do?
Everything. She shops for her. She does her laundry. … She makes sure she takes her medication. She makes sure my mother checks her sugar every day. She makes sure my mother checks her blood pressure, and she monitors her blood pressure. She makes sure my mother has all of the little strips, and then the things you stick your finger with. She makes sure my mother doesn’t miss appointments. She encourages my mom to eat. … She does the cleaning around the house for my mother, everything.
It’s just a huge help, you know? It’s knowing the person personally, and her having the support, the service. … I cannot imagine finding someone else to replace her. … It’s a roller coaster. It’s so much to deal with.
Describe how you’re feeling right now, knowing that this whole thing is possibly about to fall apart.
I’ll tell you, to be honest, a part of me, I’m in denial. And I’m in denial because it just doesn’t make sense. … And again, as an advocate, I’m giving it thought on that perspective. There are doctors on TPS. There are nurses on TPS, school bus drivers, paraprofessionals, you name it. So I’m in denial, because I don’t understand, why would you do this? I’m really expecting something to happen. … I’m advocating, but I’m in denial. At the last minute, there’s going to be an extension, in my mind.
But I have to give you the flip side, though. If there is an extension, right, it’s just a Band-Aid. Because is it a two-month extension? Is it a one-year extension? And so that’s the gift and the curse. Because a lot of people are going to exhale, and then we’ll be right back here again. An extension is, it’s a placebo pill, it’s a momentary resolution.
(A federal appeals court gave Haitians on TPS a brief reprieve this week, issuing a decision Wednesday that keeps in place a lower court’s order that blocks the revocation of TPS and the expiration of work permits until at least July 27, three days later than a prior expiration date announced by the Department of Homeland Security. Asked to respond to families’ concerns about losing trusted caregivers, and asked whether the protections could be extended further, a DHS spokesperson defended the decision to end TPS for Haiti. “Conditions in Haiti have improved sufficiently to support the return of Haitian nationals, and DHS encourages eligible individuals to utilize available resources, including the CBP Home program, to facilitate a safe and orderly departure,” the spokesperson said. “This decision restores TPS to its intended purpose while reinforcing that U.S. immigration laws will be enforced consistently and that temporary protections cannot become permanent by default.”)
What do you think a good solution would be, and who are you looking to, to fix this?
A temporary solution is Senate Bill 4814, which, if the Democrats and Republicans get together and pass it, will be a three-year extension of TPS. So, then, after that, a solution would be for someone to finally create a pathway to citizenship. … A path to citizenship is the answer…whether it’s resetting the clock from scratch and saying, five years from now, you don’t get into trouble, you work, you get a green card, or whatever it looks like. But this can’t continue.
Have you talked to your mom about the situation? How is this affecting her?
My mom’s very concerned. My mom’s been in America over 50 years. My father’s deceased, my father was a union electrician, a small business owner. They own a home, they never got into any trouble. My mom is a legal green card holder. She feels like she shouldn’t be in this situation. You know, vicariously, she’s stressed about this. … My mom feels as if it’s not fair to her that she has to deal with this.
What do you wish more people understood about what you and your family are going through, and what your mom’s aide is going through?
People are people. You know, immigrants, Haitians, they just come here to have a better life. Every race, every nationality has bad characters. That’s just the way humanity works. But if you look at the majority of TPS holders, they work. They’re taxpayers. They mind their business. They just want to function. That’s what I want people to understand. And you never know who’s a TPS holder. There are TPS holders that have children that are American. So your child’s best friend can be crying at night thinking that they’ll lose their mother. Your child’s best friend can be on TPS. … Having TPS is not a bad thing. It’s an opportunity to work and pay your bills and be productive. … No one is getting freebies. No one is milking the system. They just want to work.
Why do you think it’s important to speak out about this?
I was born here. I’ve always felt that, as an American citizen, I should use my privilege. … I feel I have to speak out. I’m a first-generation Haitian American. I grew up around all immigrants. I speak Creole. My first language was French. … So, you know, at this time, when people who are in this situation can’t speak out, I have to. I’m an American. That has to mean something.
CNN’s Tami Luhby and Michael Williams contributed to this report.
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