(Photo courtesy of UMass Lowell) “Haitian immigrants currently housed at UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center”
Tristin Henson
Connector Editor
On February 20th, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem decided to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants. Now slated to expire in August 2025, it was originally meant to end in February 2026 due to the Biden administration’s extension in July 2024. This is not the first time the Trump administration has tried to end TPS for Haitian immigrants, however, it is the first time it has succeeded. In 2018 the Trump administration tried to end TPS status for Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Sudan, but was denied by the courts. Of course, this end to Haitian TPS was expected due to recent crackdowns on immigration and the fact that during the presidential campaign, Trump and J.D. Vance spread false rumors about Haitians eating people’s pets.
This decision to end TPS for roughly 500,000 Haitians living in the country will heavily affect Lowell, as there is a large Haitian population living at the Lowell Inn and Conference Center (ICC) after they were moved from Bedford in 2024. There are about 68 families, who are a mixture of migrants and unhoused residents, living at the ICC currently. Many of them are getting treated for acute medical needs like uncontrolled diabetes or high blood pressure, and many are pregnant according to Elizabeth Hale, the health center’s chief operating officer for the Lowell Community Health Center (GBH, 2024).
Secretary Noem also revoked TPS extension for about 600,000 Venezuelans and decided not to renew TPS protections for about 350,000 of them. So, it is now unclear if Secretary Noem will revoke the other TPS extensions from the Biden administration like the extension for Ukrainians and Sudanese until October 2026, and Salvadorians until September 2026. This also comes amid a mass firing of judges, which also hits close to home in Lowell. Kerry Doyle, a judge who the Biden administration appointed to work in the new Chelmsford immigration court was terminated. The termination, according to GBH, was effective immediately, and without explanation. Doyle had this to say about the situation: “If you start making it political, it really does blow the system up and blow up people’s faith in the system.”
Of course, these firings come as more immigrants are being detained, and immigrants will be more likely to only spend a day in court or not get a case at all through expedited removal. Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, estimated the eliminated positions will mean 10,000 fewer cases will be heard this year. Just to keep things in perspective, there were about 154,000 backlogged immigration cases for Massachusetts (3,728,680 for all of the United States) as of the end of January 2025.
Another event that applies to this situation is that Tom Homan, the “border czar” for Trump’s administration, has said he is going to start going after sanctuary cities (cities that will not ask about your immigration status, disclose that information to authorities, or deny you city services based on your immigration status) in Massachusetts. Homan stated that he will specifically be going after Boston at the Conservative Political Action Conference: “I’m coming to Boston, I’m bringing hell with me.”
Massachusetts has a total of eight sanctuary cities: Amherst, Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Concord, Newton, Northampton, and Somerville. However, Massachusetts itself is not a sanctuary state, and there have been posters put up around UMass Lowell as of recent that are calling for Maura Healey, Governor of Massachusetts, to make Massachusetts a sanctuary state. However, Healey stated in a CBS News interview: “We are not a sanctuary state. If you come here, there is not housing here, and I think that’s been effective in changing the trajectory of [migration to Massachusetts]”.
Immigration Resources On-Campus Confidential Resources for Students: Counseling Services (978-934-6800), Health Services (978-934-6800), Campus Ministry (978-934-2100). On-Campus Non-Confidential Resources for Students: Office of Multicultural Affairs (978-934-4336), Residence Life (978-934-5160), Residency Office (978-934-3700), Dean of Students (978-934-2100), Undergraduate Admissions (978-934-3931).
See Immigration Resources on the UML website for more information regarding Immigration Attorney Resources, Free Legal Clinics for Immigration Assistance, Mission Asset Fund (MAF), and Other Local Resources.
