The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments about President Trump’s move to end Temporary Protected Status for Haiti.
One of the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the administration is Viles Dorsainvil. He’s a TPS holder and pastor who lives in Springfield and founded the Haitian Support Center.
He traveled to Washington, D.C. for the arguments. At a news conference on the steps of the Supreme Court after the hearing, he said the dangerous conditions that led to the TPS designation for Haiti and Syria haven’t vanished.
"Ongoing instability, a humanitarian crisis and safety concerns continue to make a return dangerous, and in many cases, untenable," Dorsainvil said. "So the question before the court is not just a legal one, it is a moral one about who we are as a nation and how we treat people who have rallied in our communities."
Springfield is home to about 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian residents, many of whom are in the U.S. legally with Temporary Protected Status.
Congress enacted the TPS program in 1990 for people from countries that have experienced violence, natural disasters or other unsafe conditions. It had bipartisan support for decades.
Then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem terminated Haiti's TPS status last year in response to a Trump executive order. She said no extraordinary conditions exist that prevent Haitians from going home and that continuing TPS for them " is contrary to the national interest."
The uncertainty caused by the move to end the status for Haiti has weighed on the people Dorsainvil has assisted.
"In my office in Ohio, there are so many families who come to the office asking the question, 'What about tomorrow?' What will happen to them?" he said. "And you can imagine being here in the U.S., but still struggling to know what your tomorrow will be?"
He also said stripping away protections from TPS holders would cause needless harm, separate families and disrupt the local economy.
"So we urge a decision that reflects both the law in our shared values, fairness, stability and compassion," Dorsainvil said.
