Harlaine Dominique, a travel nurse and mother of a 16-month-old boy, is waiting for the Supreme Court to decide whether Temporary Protected Status can end for haitians like her. If the court lets the program end, more than 300,000 Haitians could face deportation, including Dominique, who says TPS has let her live and work legally in the United States.
Dominique came to the United States in 1995 when she was 7 years old and overstayed her visa. In 2010, she and her mother, Roz, were granted deportation protection after a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Haiti and killed over 200,000 people.
Harlaine Dominique and J.J.
Dominique is J.J.'s primary caregiver, and she says deportation would cut through the life she has built here. J.J.'s father is an American citizen and is fighting for custody of him, putting Dominique's family in a separate legal fight even before the Supreme Court rules on TPS.
Dominique worked on the front line treating patients during the Covid-19 pandemic, and she said, "It hurts deeply to know that just six years ago, I was a hero. Now I am considered a burden to this country." She also said, "I can only imagine what that would do to my son. For him to lose his mom — he’s my everything. He depends on me. He needs me."
Roz and Medicare access
TPS has been renewed several times for Haitians because of political instability and gang violence in Haiti, but the program offers no pathway to permanent residency or citizenship. Dominique's mother, Roz, needs a kidney transplant, and Roz lost access to Medicare this year after the Trump administration restricted access for TPS holders.
Dominique said, "TPS has allowed me to live the American dream that we all pray for — knowing that can all be stripped away from me keeps me up at night." She also said, "We’ve built a life here. We have our family. We’ve helped build this economy, this country. Stripping us of it is inhumane."
Supreme Court decision on TPS
The case now sits with the Supreme Court, which will decide whether TPS can end and whether more than 300,000 Haitians will keep the legal status that has allowed them to live and work in the United States. Dominique said, "I know this is your worst part. It’s all clean."
For Dominique, the ruling reaches beyond one family. It will decide whether a mother who arrived as a child in 1995, worked through the pandemic, and has raised her son here can stay with him under a status that has already been renewed through earthquake recovery, political instability, and gang violence in Haiti.
