Faith leaders, nursing home workers, hotel staff, and airport employees gathered at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport on Wednesday to call on the Trump administration to extend Haitian Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is set to expire on February 3.
Rally and Vigil
The group marched outside the airport, holding signs and chanting, before ending with a prayer and candlelight vigil for the 350,000 Haitian nationals affected nationwide, including over 100,000 in South Florida.
Farah Larrieux, a Haitian TPS recipient and business owner in the U.S. since 2005, said:
“I wanted to live the American dream, and now they’re stripping it away from me. That is unfair.”
She added that returning to Haiti could be life-threatening for many TPS holders.
Support from Congress
Congresswomen Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick attended to show solidarity.
Cherfilus-McCormick said:
“I come here today to beg not because I don’t have pride, but because the Haitian people are suffering so much they have asked me to.”
Wasserman Schultz added that she plans to sign a discharge petition in Washington to try to bring TPS legislation for Haitians to the House floor.
Determination to Stay
For Larrieux and others facing uncertainty, the rally was a symbol of hope. She said:
“Right now, I am focusing on the fight — the fight for my rights, the fight to stay in the United States, and the fight to have the right to live the American dream.”
Airport officials estimate that 150 Haitian TPS employees work at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport.