Uncertainty with temporary immigration statuses causing instability for Minnesota immigrants

NINA MOINI: Well, two recent court rulings impact the rights of more than 1.5 million immigrants to legally live and work in the United States, including here in Minnesota. On Friday, a federal appeals court ruled the Trump administration can end what's called humanitarian parole for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, but another program is still in legal limbo. Earlier this month, a federal court blocked the administration from ending temporary protected status for Haitians and Venezuelans in the United States.

Joining me to explain is Michele Garnett McKenzie. She's an immigration lawyer and co-executive director of the Advocates for Human Rights. Thanks for your time this afternoon, Michele.

MICHELE GARNETT MCKENZIE: Of course. Thanks so much, Nina.

NINA MOINI: I think it's really nice to have your expertise, because when people do hear about all of these different intricate policies and statuses people can have, sometimes people might have-- they might just tune out. Because it can be confusing for people, so it's great to have somebody here to explain. For starters could you just talk about these two designations, humanitarian parole, and then temporary protected status, TPS, and just how they differ?

MICHELE GARNETT MCKENZIE: Sure. It's confusing for everyone and this litigation environment makes it very difficult for everyone to follow, so the confusion is real, but they are two distinct programs. Temporary protected status, or TPS, is an essential humanitarian protection authorized by federal law. It's part of our federal immigration statutes for people who find themselves in the United States when crisis strikes their homeland.

It's a practical designation that allows the US to avoid having undocumented people here when planned return is impossible to their country, and make no mistake, crises happen. So immigration isn't just about the US, it's about situations in other countries. Temporary protected status provides essential stability for people who are here. It allows them to remain and to work in the United States as long as the crisis is ongoing, and it's essential to making sure people are housed, fed, safe when dislocated by crisis.

Its designated statute limits it to a designation between six and 18 months, and people who arrive after the designation are not eligible to register. The reality is crises don't resolve that quickly, often, so Congress does permit ongoing extensions of temporary protected status. That's why you will see some countries designated two or three or 10 years ago. We have to deal in reality, and crises don't always wrap up that quickly.

NINA MOINI: Sure.

MICHELE GARNETT MCKENZIE: Humanitarian parole, it's the opposite. It's for people who are outside the United States, and it allows the executive branch to grant citizens temporary permission to come into the United States when there's no other route for them, because of humanitarian reasons or because it benefits the public. It's a discretionary form of entry into the United States, because our immigration law is so narrow in how people can enter or remain in the US. So they're distinct two sides of the coin, both for humanitarian reasons.

NINA MOINI: So right now, from someone from your perspective, or the perspective of people in the legal profession who are trying to navigate this and then help people-- people who may not have a lot of resources to begin with-- are you feeling an overwhelm of trying to file all the paperwork that needs to be filed? Or how are people, and if they are, able to get the resources they need right now, to keep up with any changes or any things that are in limbo?

MICHELE GARNETT MCKENZIE: This has been really challenging for people, and I'll give you just one tiny example of where the bureaucracy really has stepped in to be a problem-- when the court ruled that the temporary protected status was still in place for Haitians and Venezuelans, one of those designations required people to re-register if they wanted to continue in that status.

And the district court had to order, specifically, the federal government to open the portal online so that applications could be received, because they had practically blocked it by simply taking down the portal. So people could not register even though the court had found it was legal, so the barriers can be very challenging.

That was up for 24 hours. It's now closed. It's that kind of difficulty that people face every day. These applications are costly to renew, and they're filing fees for it. And of course, if your work permission is tied to that status and it's going on and off and on again, that makes it difficult to maintain employment.

NINA MOINI: A lot of instability, and it sounds like a lot of people trying to keep up with what resources are available. Michele, thank you for your perspective. Hope you'll join us again sometime soon.

MICHELE GARNETT MCKENZIE: Yes, thank you so much, and have a great afternoon. Thanks.

NINA MOINI: You too. Michele Garnett McKenzie is an immigration lawyer and co-executive director of the Minneapolis-based group the Advocates for Human Rights. And throughout these legal battles, we've been talking about people with humanitarian parole and TPS have been, again, trying to figure out, what are their next steps? And David Policard is trying to help. He started an organization called VANSE to support Haitians in Minnesota about a year ago. He's on the line. David, thank you so much for joining me this afternoon.

DAVID POLICARD: Hi. Thank you for having me.

NINA MOINI: I don't know if you were able to listen in to Michele and I a moment ago, Michele from the Advocates for Human Rights. She was talking about, institutionally, what's going on, and the infrastructure and the bureaucracy, and just from that perspective, all of the confusion and the difficulty that may be going on. What are you seeing from your perspective through your work with VANSE?

DAVID POLICARD: Yes, Michele did a good job laying it out. And so to go a little bit deeper, what we're seeing-- so now, even when the applications are open for people to apply, the portals are open, when people apply to renew-- let's say they are under the TPS, and they apply to renew their work permit or employment authorization.

They don't even send them the new one, because on the website, they had said, oh, work employment authorizations have been extended until that date. So now that creates confusion, right? Some employers will say you have to bring me a new work employment authorization card, and others will say, oh, I'll take it because I saw it on the website.

NINA MOINI: So it's just confusion that could have a real impact on people's, I'm assuming, ability to make money, to figure out what's next. They're losing time. I understand you started your organization October of 2024, so almost a year or so ago. You've served about 50, 55 different people since then. How great is the need for the services that you're trying to provide?

DAVID POLICARD: It is tremendous, because more people have moved based on national policies. More Haitians have moved to Minnesota, and they all have the same issues. So some have moved just for work and now employment has been terminated. It's only increasing, because I'm getting phone calls basically on a weekly basis, because people in other states, where conditions are maybe are less favorable than Minnesota, are calling and asking if they should move to Minnesota. And if they move, what are the conditions? Can they work? And all that stuff.

NINA MOINI: And what do you tell them?

DAVID POLICARD: It varies. So if it's someone who is legally documented or has a work employment authorization that hasn't expired, then I say, yes, you come here, you'll get a job within two weeks, because the state has more jobs than people. But if you don't have a work employment authorization, you can still come because the state social services do support people regardless of legal status. But there's no guarantee you'll find employment. And you can get into the gig economy, but there's no guarantee on that either.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. You know, David, a lot of people have said, particularly Democrats have said, that one of the goals of the Trump administration is to get immigrants that are here to maybe self-deport or just leave. What about in-- let's take Haiti, for instance-- what are you hearing from people who are feeling like their only option is going to be to go back? What would that look like for them? Are you hearing from people who say, well, I need to either go underground or I need to go back to Haiti?

DAVID POLICARD: Yeah. So for Haiti it's a little bit different, because we have Haitians that have been in migration for the last 15 years. They've spent some time in the Dominican Republic, some time in Chile, some time in Brazil, some time in Mexico, until they could make it to the US. For some people that has lasted 15 years. So some of those people, especially if they're kids, they have no connection to Haiti. They haven't been.

Some of them have decided to move on to Canada, especially if they have a skill, or if they have a university degree. Canada has opened the doors for people with skills. And we have people who say they are going to go underground, and then there's another group that says they're going back to Haiti, but they don't know back to what. Their neighborhoods don't exist anymore. No work. And yeah, they have-- yeah.

NINA MOINI: Uncertainty, yeah.

DAVID POLICARD: Uncertainty.

NINA MOINI: Well, David, again, we hope you'll come back sometime soon and tell us how things are going in your field, and really appreciate your time this afternoon. Thank you.

DAVID POLICARD: Oh, no. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me.

NINA MOINI: David Policard is the founder of VANSE, an organization that supports Haitian immigrants in Minnesota.