Marie Haywood has called the United States home for 25 years. She put down roots in the Flint area and raised a family, paid taxes, started a business, and persevered over multiple years through the often lengthy, expensive, and bureaucratic process of becoming a U.S. citizen after moving here from Haiti. On June 27, at a rally organized by the Flint Alliance for Immigrant Rights (FAIR), she spoke on behalf of fellow Haitians whose legal status in the United States is now up in the air after a Supreme Court ruling last week cleared the way for the Trump Administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians and 4,000 Syrians living and working in the U.S.
“This for me is personal to me because I’ve been in the U.S. for over 25 years, but I have family that just came to the U.S. recently under the Biden Administration,” Haywood said. “I have my aunt that’s been in the U.S. for 30 years, but she did not get a chance to even do her citizenship yet. Her son is in the Marines. She pays her taxes here in the U.S. just like I do. I have family members that need their rent paid, their work permits are (up) in the air. I also have two of my cousins who are self-deporting because they received a letter saying they need to go back home. Again, this is affecting the Haitian community in Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Detroit, and all over Michigan, as well as in Chi-Town, New York, Boston, everywhere. So we just ask everyone to please continue to stand in solidarity.”
Temporary Protected Status, created by Congress in 1990, is a designation granted in U.S. immigration policy that allows people from countries facing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extreme or unsafe emergency hardships to temporarily work in the United States and avoid deportation as long as certain residency and legal requirements were met. Recently, as of March of 2025, that list included 17 countries: Venezuela, Haiti, El Salvador, Ukraine, Honduras, Afghanistan, Nepal, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Syria, Burma, Nicaragua, Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, Lebanon, and Somalia. The 6-3 ruling in Mullin v. Doe overturned lower court decisions that blocked the administration’s efforts to revoke TPS for Haitian and Syrian nationals already in the country. Of that list of 17 TPS countries, the Trump administration has ended it for all but Lebanon, El Salvador, Sudan, and Ukraine. TPS status for those countries is set to expire later this year.
Another 6-3 Supreme Court decision last week, in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, upheld an Obama Administration era policy that allows border enforcement officials to turn away asylum seekers arriving by land entry points along the U.S.-Mexico border. Historically, asylum protections have ensured that people fleeing violence, persecution, and danger have the opportunity to seek protection in the U.S. rather than being sent back into harm’s way.
Both decisions significantly weaken protections for large numbers of immigrants already in the U.S. and others fleeing violence, famine, or other hardships in the countries they are from. FAIR organized the rally in front of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church downtown Flint to raise awareness of both rulings and to encourage the community to support the Flint area’s immigrant community. Organizers also called on elected representatives in Congress to demand better permanent protections for immigrant residents.
“At FAIR, we know that these decisions are part of a broader anti-immigrant agenda that endangers families, workers, and community members throughout the country, and we are seeing that destruction everywhere,” said Lucine Jarrah, a FAIR Flint coalition member. “But we are not just here to tell you the news and break down the facts. We’re here to tell you that we’re not giving up and that we will keep fighting. We know what happens when we organize. We’ve seen community pressure get a 287g agreement here in Genesee County rescinded. We have seen the power of people as recently as last week through organizing and public pressure that stopped the proposed Romulus Detention Center from moving forward. We have seen rapid response work protect families in moments of crisis. We have seen our fundraising bring immediate relief to people who needed support, and we have seen Flint show up again and again and again and we’ve seen this coalition win, and we will win again.”
Delma Jackson III, founder of the Sankofa Project for Social Justice, stressed the idea that all struggles for justice and humanity are connected.
“We all understand that none of us can take our citizenship, our membership, our belonging for granted, right?,” Jackson said. “I stand before you right now in front of the very church where my grandfather was a janitor after serving his country in World War II. Rather than having access to the federal housing loan, he had to work for a living. No FHA for him. No G.I. Bill for him. None of us can take for granted our citizenship, which is why all of us have to stand together in solidarity. Right now, it’s them. Tomorrow it might very well be you, and we understand that.”
Ale Rojas, an organizer with No Detention Centers in Michigan, also reiterated that struggles are interconnected and building community is key to
“We (No Detention Centers in Michigan) are firm believers in social justice and freedom of movement,” Rojas said. “Since the beginning of time, humans have been migratory creatures, just like the other mammals and the other animals. Humans have been moving as they need to, relocating when resources run scarce or when whatever else happens. It is not just about whether individuals are here legally or not, because legally doesn’t always mean morally correct. And that is why every single one of you are here because you know that your worth is tied to my worth. We are all human. Together.”
In addition to raising awareness, FAIR organizers are also encouraging supporters to take action and call on their elected representatives to provide immediate protection from detention and deportation, and to expand pathways to permanent residency. Local allies can support these advocacy efforts by contacting their senators and representatives via phone or email. Residents can find contact information for U.S. Representatives through the U.S. House of Representatives Directory. To reach U.S. Senators and urge support for TPS extensions, visit the U.S. Senate Directory.
For updates and to learn more about ongoing TPS litigation, visit the Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP) TPS litigation tracker. This page includes information on where each individual TPS case stands and what it means for TPS holders.
FAIR Flint can also help connect people who are in need of legal representation or other assistance to resources. Reach out to contact.fairflint@gmail.com for information. FAIR regularly share events and updates on their Facebook and Instagram pages, and they’ve compiled a list of links to other resources and volunteer forms with information.
“It is meaningful for us as a Flint community to be here today and to see ourselves as part of this movement and walk away with the resolve to be even more steadfast in our advocacy,” said Alysia Treviño, a FAIR coalition member. “Today, we ask that you learn more about the communities who are being targeted. Reach out to those in your community and make sure that they are supported and have what they need. Don’t turn a blind eye or let these atrocities get lost in the sea of headlines. We also ask that you join us in demanding that any and all representatives truly represent our values and push for policies that will protect TPS holders, DACA recipients, refugees, and asylum seekers.”
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