Behind every TPS recipient is a network of lives that depend on their stability. Ending the program is not just political—it is deeply personal.
Opinion | The Haitian Pulse | July 3, 2025
Ludson Momperousse left Haiti in 2016 after years of hardship and the heartbreak of losing his father in the 2010 earthquake. He left behind a disabled mother and two younger siblings, carrying only hope and determination with him to Florida. It took him three months to secure a job at a local warehouse—but ever since, Ludson has sent $50 a week, without fail, to help his family survive. It may not be much by American standards, but for his loved ones in Haiti, it is the difference between eating and going hungry, between accessing medicine and doing without. Ludson is one of nearly 200,000 Haitians currently protected by Temporary Protected Status (TPS). His story is not unique—it is one of thousands.
“For families like Ludson’s, TPS is not a handout. It is a lifeline that flows from one country to another.” — The Haitian Pulse Editorial Team
Yet, that lifeline is now under threat. President Donald Trump’s administration—under the guidance of Secretary Kristi Noem—has taken steps to terminate Haiti’s TPS designation earlier than scheduled, cutting it off in September 2025 instead of February 2026. Though temporarily blocked by a federal judge in New York, the move signals a broader strategy to gut protections for immigrants who have built lives, families, and communities in the U.S.
More Than Just a Status
TPS is a legal designation that allows immigrants from crisis-stricken countries to live and work in the U.S. until it is safe to return home. Those who qualify go through background checks, pay fees, and must re-register regularly. They are not undocumented. They are not criminals. They are legal residents with permission to be here.
Yet despite their contributions—economic, social, and cultural—they are treated like placeholders. Expendable. Political pawns. But Ludson is not a policy issue. He is a human being. And so are the thousands like him who are keeping families in Haiti afloat with every dollar they send.
“Revoking TPS doesn’t just displace the individual—it collapses entire households.” — The Haitian Pulse Editorial Team
Haiti today is not a country equipped to absorb an influx of deportees. The government is corrupt to the core, held hostage by gangs declared as terrorist organizations. Security is a myth. Institutions are barely functional. And yet, U.S. officials are willing to send tens of thousands of legal Haitian residents back into that chaos without a plan, without accountability, and without shame.
Ripple Effects of Destruction
It is estimated that Haitians in the diaspora send over $3 billion annually back home in remittances. This money is not charity. It is the lifeblood of the country’s struggling economy. TPS holders like Ludson make up a significant portion of that pipeline. To cut them off is to cut off Haiti itself.
In a nation where the only opportunities left are joining a gang or selling your soul to politics, we must ask ourselves: What happens when 200,000 people like Ludson are sent back to a country that has no jobs, no structure, and no interest in helping them? What happens when deportees, many of whom left as children, return to a land they barely know, without support or reintegration programs?
“If we don’t handle this situation with care, we risk feeding the very instability we claim to be fighting.” — The Haitian Pulse Editorial Team
The U.S. has every right to craft immigration policy—but it also has a moral obligation to act with foresight and humanity. The decision to end TPS prematurely is short-sighted, cruel, and dangerously destabilizing. And while it may score political points, it will cost lives. It will break families. It will deepen a humanitarian crisis that already teeters on the edge of collapse.
A Call for Justice
The Haitian people are proud. Resilient. For centuries, they have survived against all odds. But that should not mean they must suffer in silence while policies are written that dismantle their lives from afar.
The Haitian community must speak out. Churches, community leaders, business owners, and youth must demand that TPS be extended, not ended. That humanitarian policy reflects human realities. And that Ludson—and thousands like him—be given the dignity to continue supporting the families that depend on them.
“Ending TPS is not immigration reform—it is economic sabotage and moral failure.” — The Haitian Pulse Editorial Team
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