Haitian immigrants have been an important part of Massachusetts culture and community for more than 65 years. The first wave arrived in the late 1950s and 1960s, professionals and intellectuals fleeing repression under the Duvalier dictatorship. A larger wave followed after 1980, and the community has grown steadily ever since, first centered around St. Leo and St. Matthew parishes in Dorchester, then expanding into Mattapan, and later into Everett, Malden, Randolph, and Brockton.¹ Today, greater Boston is one of the top three destinations for Haitian immigrants in the entire country, and Haitians are the third-largest foreign-born group in the city itself, contributing an estimated $256 million to Boston’s economy and supporting thousands of jobs.² Nearly 45,000 people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) live in Massachusetts, and Haitians make up the largest share of them.³
For generations, Haitian families have settled in communities across the state, building lives here: opening businesses, raising children (who are now U.S. citizens), and working in the hospitals, schools, and elder care facilities that Massachusetts depends on every day.
That community is now facing real uncertainty. On June 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the federal government may proceed with ending TPS for Haitian and Syrian nationals, a decision that could affect roughly 356,000 people nationwide.⁴ TPS holders are expected to lose their status and work authorization by late July, likely around July 27, though attorneys note the federal government still needs to issue formal implementation guidance first.⁵
What the ruling means
TPS was created in 1990 so that people could not be forced to return to countries where conditions remain genuinely unsafe.⁶ Haiti has held that designation since 2010, when a catastrophic earthquake devastated the country. In the years since, conditions have not improved. Armed gangs now control much of Port-au-Prince, and the U.S. State Department continues to list Haiti under its highest travel warning, “Do Not Travel,” citing gang violence, political instability, and a broader humanitarian crisis.⁷
Haitian TPS holders are deeply embedded in American communities. About 85 percent live in mixed-status households, nearly 1 in 10 adults are married to a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, and roughly 18 percent are parenting at least one U.S. citizen child. Most arrived within the past five years, yet they’re already a visible part of the workforce: over half of those employed work in transportation, production, food preparation, or healthcare, with transportation the largest single category at 16 percent.8
The Court did not rule that Haiti is safe. It ruled that courts have no authority to review how the government makes or unmakes TPS decisions at all. The Court also considered, and rejected, an argument that the termination was motivated by racial animus.9
What this means for people, not just numbers
Carline Desire, executive director of the Association of Haitian Women in Boston (AFAB), described the ruling as both a professional and deeply personal blow, since some of her own family members rely on TPS to remain legally in the country.10 She said fear had already reshaped daily life in Haitian communities before the ruling even came down: people skipping church, avoiding public spaces, and shifting into under-the-table work rather than risk losing their jobs. Asked what she wanted people to understand, she put it simply: “We are human beings, and we are hurting.”11
D., a 32-year-old south of Boston who came to the U.S. with his family after the 2010 earthquake, has lived half his life here under TPS. He and his mother and brother recently bought a home together. Since the ruling, he’s been weighing what comes next for his family, including whether to “stay under the radar or go back to Haiti or go to a different country.”12 He said he remains hopeful his family will be allowed to stay, whatever the reason: their jobs, their education, or simply the years they’ve already given to this country.
Why this matters here
A May report from Senators Warren and Markey and Representative Pressley found that ending TPS for Haitian immigrants could worsen an already strained health care system in Massachusetts. It estimated that roughly 2,000 direct care workers statewide are at risk of losing work authorization, and that an estimated 13,000 Haitian TPS holders work as nursing assistants across the state.13 Desire pointed to nursing homes in particular, warning that patient care will suffer and remaining staff will burn out.14 Haitian immigrants also make up a significant share of Boston’s bus drivers, construction workers, and school cafeteria staff.15 Nationally, Haitians have long been concentrated in health care: nursing professions alone employ roughly half of all Haitian women workers in the Boston area.16
In 2023, TPS holders in Massachusetts contributed $134.2 million in local, state, and federal taxes.17 MIRA has worked directly with Haitian TPS holders, including partnering on application clinics for people in emergency assistance shelters. We have seen firsthand what is at stake when someone loses the ability to legally work: not just income, but a caregiving shift left uncovered, a classroom seat left empty, a family unable to pay bills.
What you can do
Contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to support S.4814, which has already passed the House of Representatives and would protect Haitian TPS holders. If you have friends and family in states that do not welcome immigrants the way MA does, send them this easy click to email tool and ask them to do the same. If you or someone you know has TPS, call MIRA’s Immigration Helpline at (508) 293-1871, or schedule a consultation with a qualified immigration attorney, and stay connected to trusted community organizations for updates.
The people this ruling affects have already survived one crisis. They should not have to face the next one without their neighbors standing beside them.
Sources
- Global Boston, “Haitians,” Boston College Department of History
- Boston Public Library, “Haitian Influence on Boston’s Workforce,” May 1, 2025,
- MIRA Coalition, “Supreme Court Decision on TPS: What Now?” (July 1, 2026),
- Samantha Genzer, “Supreme Court TPS decision leaves Haitian community, advocates reeling in Mass.,” Boston.com, June 30, 2026.
- Boston.com, June 30, 2026, citing Boston immigration attorney Giselle Rodriguez; International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), “Community Updates,” June 29, 2026, on the 32-day implementation window.
- Mullin v. Doe, 609 U.S. ___ (2026), slip op. at 2-3 (describing the TPS statute’s 1990 origin).
- U.S. Department of State, Travel Advisory: Haiti (Level 4: Do Not Travel), reaffirmed April 2026, as cited in Boston.com, June 30, 2026.
- The Center for Migration Studies Raises Concerns Over Supreme Court Decision Ending TPS for Haitians and Syrians – Center for Migration Studies
- Mullin v. Doe, 609 U.S. ___ (2026), slip op. at 12-24.
- Boston.com, June 30, 2026
- Boston.com, June 30, 2026
- Simón Rios, “Haitians are hoping for some way to keep legal status in the U.S.,” WBUR, June 26, 2026.
- Boston.com, June 30, 2026, citing the May 2026 report by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Ed Markey, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley on health care staffing impacts.
- Boston.com, June 30, 2026
- Boston.com, June 30, 2026
- Global Boston, “Haitians,” Boston College Department of History.
- MIRA Coalition, “Supreme Court Decision on TPS: What Now?” (July 1, 2026).