TPS: The Long and Winding Road

Tue, Jul 13, 2010

: A sign directs applicants to the fingerprinting area at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services building./ Alicia Zuckerman.

A few days after the earthquake, the U.S. government decided that Haitians living in the United States would be eligible for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. However, there has been much confusion about who can apply, how you apply and what happens after you apply for TPS.

For example, only Haitians who were living in the United States before the earthquake are eligible for TPS. Some Haitians refer to TPS as “Ti Pelen Sosyal”– Kreyol for “L’il Social Trap”– because they fear that they may be deported after they apply.

Others see it as their chance to legally take advantage of many opportunities in the United States

: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Building in North Miami/ Alicia Zuckerman

The government predicted that up to 200,000 Haitians living in the United States could be eligible, but only 55,000 Haititans had applied as of July 12. Why? fees, fraud, and most importantly, fear, according to Cheryl Little of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. However, Little and other immigrant advocates urge all eligible Haitians to apply before the application period ends, since this may be their only chance to reside in the country legally. The application period was scheduled to end on July 20th, but it has since been extended for six months. Whether the TPS period will continue to be extended for Haitians (as it has for Nicaraguans and Hondurans) or eventually expire (as it did for Rwandans and Bosnians) remains to be seen.

Under the Sun co-host and senior producer Alicia Zuckerman collected the stories of Haitians who have been traveling down the long and winding road to TPS over the past six months. Click on the player above to listen to what they found on that path.