Sunday, October 18, 2026
After a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke temporary protected status for roughly 350,000 Haitians living in the United States, Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages emphasized that the ruling provides only temporary relief.
“The court case just said that these people have status,” Solages told the Herald. “There is no end date.”
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes cited ongoing social and political instability in Haiti as the reason for her decision. Solages warned that uncertainty remains for TPS holders and their families.
Temporary protected status must be renewed every 12 to 18 months. Although the protection is temporary, Solages stressed, instability in Haiti has continued. Solages is the first person of Haitian descent to be elected to the Assembly.
She emphasized that her office remained committed to ensuring that legal action will be taken if Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents violate the rights of U.S. citizens in the 22nd District, which encompasses Elmont and parts of Franklin Square. She also highlighted organizations such as Little Haiti Brooklyn and the Haitian American Lawyers Association for helping distribute legal information.
Solages said that Reyes ruling has major implications for TPS holders, and warned of potential economic consequences if their protections are removed. She noted that employers have contacted her office about workforce shortages caused by uncertainty surrounding TPS.
“I also have employers reach out to me, because now, number one, they want workers,” Solages said. “There is a shortage in almost every industry that you could think of.”
Nassau County Legislator Carrie Solages, Michaelle’s brother, sent a letter to County Executive Bruce Blakeman, urging him to join other area elected officials in supporting an extension of TPS.
On Feb 6, 4 days after Reyes’s decision, Michaelle Solages held a news conference with several other elected officials, including County Legislators Vivianna Russell and Cynthia Nunez at Bethany French Baptist Church, in Elmont. Russell cited estimates that mass deportation of Haitians if their TPS were revoked could cost taxpayers $88 billion. She said those funds could instead be invested in education, housing and other community improvements.
While expressing gratitude for the court’s decision, Russell said that a permanent solution is still needed. It’s not just legal status that is being debated, she said, but the type of society the United States chooses to shape.
“The federal government’s decision to block the termination of TPS is a critical step toward fairness and compassion,” Nunez, who represents Valley Stream and Elmont, said in a statement. “America has always been strongest when we lead with compassion, fairness, and respect for dignity.”
Dr. Karl Latortue, president of the Haitian Medical Association Abroad, who also spoke at the news conference, said he has been treating families that are fearful and emotionally distressed, and that deporting TPS holders back to Haiti, in its current state of crisis, would constitute a public health failure.
Health care professionals are seeing increased anxiety and depression in the Haitian community, Latortue said. “Family separation causes trauma, and trauma can last a lifetime,” he said.
Brian Perez, a paralegal with the Center for Central American Refugees and the son of immigrants, also spoke, saying that he has worked with countless people seeking to build stable lives in the United States. The center offers them legal resources and community programming.
Many families with TPS are making contingency plans in case of deportation to prevent their children from becoming entangled in the court system, Solages said. Others, she added, are living in fear.
Referring to the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti in 2010, she said that those who have lived in the United States since then and have contributed to society should be provided a pathway to citizenship.
She accused the Trump administration of spreading misinformation about the Haitian community. “They are not operating in good faith,” Solages said, adding, “This is America, the land of dreams, the land of immigration.”
Have an opinion on temporary protected status? Send a letter to hfulmer@liherald.com
