‘Sanctuary people’ redefine what it means to protect immigrants in uncertain times

(The Conversation) — Hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the U.S. are living in uncertain times. On June 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could proceed with a plan to end Temporary Protected Status – a federal program that allows people to stay in the United States when the government considers their own country unsafe – for around 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians . Their work permits are scheduled to end July 24 , leaving TPS holders at risk of deportation.

This uncertainty is not new. In 2010, President Barack Obama granted TPS to Haitians living in the U.S. after an earthquake killed approximately 200,000 people in Haiti. The original period was 18 months, but TPS has been renewed multiple times because of humanitarian concerns, gang violence and political unrest.

Haitian communities in Ohio, where I study immigration , have been particularly on edge since 2024, when, during the presidential campaign, Trump and JD Vance repeated false claims that Haitians living in Springfield were eating pets. Many of the city’s estimated 12,000 Haitian residents endured harassment, and the city experienced more than 30 bomb threats .

A police…