Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has joined other state attorneys general in defending the rights of Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States. According to a recent press release, Campbell and 15 other attorneys general filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to support a lower court’s ruling, challenging the federal administration’s attempt to revoke the immigrants’ lawful status and protections.
The Trump Administration’s attempt to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants conflicted with the extended protections maintained by the Biden Administration in response to ongoing crises in those countries. The press release noted that revoking TPS could result in significant disruptions to economic, public health, and public safety systems nationwide, describing the prior administration’s actions as arbitrary.
Attorney General Campbell’s coalition highlighted the economic contributions of Haitian and Venezuelan TPS holders. According to the Massachusetts AG’s office, Venezuelan TPS recipients contribute more than $11 billion annually to the U.S. economy, while Haitian TPS recipients contribute $4.4 billion. The potential loss of this workforce could affect industries already experiencing labor shortages, particularly in sectors such as health care support and service industries, where roughly 75,000 TPS-eligible Haitians are employed.
Ending TPS would also have personal consequences for families, forcing some to choose between separation, returning to countries that may be unsafe for their U.S. citizen children, or remaining in the United States without legal status. In 2022 tens of thousands of U.S. citizen children and adults lived with TPS holders.
In Massachusetts, which is home to one of the nation’s largest Haitian populations, more than 15,000 Haitian TPS holders reside in the state. Many are integrated into the workforce, including dozens employed by the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services, providing care for some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. Without TPS, these workers could face challenges sustaining their families and maintaining access to employer-sponsored health care.
As legal challenges continue, Attorney General Campbell co-led an amicus brief supporting Haitian-Americans United in their March challenge to the Trump Administration’s policies, and again in September for Miot, et al. v. Trump, et al., opposing efforts to revoke legal status for Haitian TPS holders. The coalition backing AG Campbell now includes attorneys general from 16 states and the District of Columbia, forming a broad legal front in defense of TPS recipients.
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