‘Devastating’ loss: Mass. Gov. Healey calls on Trump admin to extend protected status for Haitians
With just days to go before a Feb. 3 expiration date, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has called on the Trump administration to extend protected status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians now living in the United States, including tens of thousands who call Massachusetts home.
"Haitian TPS holders are essential contributors to our state's workforce, filling roles that are vital to our economic stability and growth," that spans such industries as "health care and long-term care to transportation, hospitality, and construction," Healey wrote in a Friday letter to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The Bay State is home to one of the largest Haitian populations in the country, more than 45,000 of whom have temporary protected status, Healey said. Those workers "help keep our economy running. The sudden loss of their legal status and work authorization would be devastating for our state."
The U.S. government granted the temporary legal status to Haitians after the country was devastated by an earthquake in 2010. And since the country's president was killed in 2021 , violent gangs run much of the country , Marketplace reported.
Health care industry leaders have warned that ending the immigrant status would not only be bad for the migrants, but it also would be bad for business, creating serious staffing shortages.
Healey echoed that sentiment in her letter to Noem, arguing that deporting these workers would punch a hole in the state's economy.
"Massachusetts and much of the nation are already facing workforce shortages in this sector, and if these workers suddenly lose their legal status and work authorization, the result will be more severe staffing shortages, increased health care costs, reduced access to care, and additional strain placed on an already stressed health care system," Healey's office said in a statement.
On Capitol Hill, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, is trying to force a vote on a measure that would preserve temporary protected status. The Boston lawmaker's district has a large Haitian population.
"Extending TPS for Haiti isn't just the moral, humanitarian thing to do — it is also good policy," Pressley said.
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