According to This Week magazine (March 28, 2025), President Trump’s “takedown” of Temporary Protected Status would force over a million back to countries destroy by war, dictatorship or natural disaster. It would force 240,000 Ukrainians back to Ukraine, and 600,000 Venezuelans and 520,000 Haitians back to their countries of origin.
Those who have TPS status are allowed to work and pay taxes in this country, but their status must be renewed every six to 18 months.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed to stop Trump, but if he is successful, the magazine states that “The U.S. economy may take a hit.”
It reports that TPS households hold $3 billion in purchasing power and pay more than $1 billion yearly in federal taxes. They also pay $1 billion more in state and local taxes every year.
Deportation would be a death sentence for many. A Haitian living in Houston said, “Should you get deported, you are kind of left for dead.” Haiti is desperately poor and overrun by gangs that murdered nearly 6,000 people last year. In Venezuela, the economy has collapsed since a strongman took power, and most people rely on humanitarian assistance for food. Haitians fled after a massive earthquake devastated the island in 2010, while others have fled gang violence in recent years.
