Approximately 55,000 Haitian-Americans across the nation have their fate in the Trump administration's hands. Per Democracy Now!, tens of thousands of Haitians could be forcefully repatriated to Haiti should the Trump administration refuse to extend the temporary protected status (TPS) that has allowed them to legally reside and work in the U.S. after an earthquake devastated Haiti in 2010.

The Haitians' TPS is set to expire on July 22. Immigrant rights advocates state that the already fragile Haiti is still recovering from Hurricane Matthew, which destroyed the country’s southwest peninsula in October 2016. The hurricane killed more than 1,000 people and decimated villages and farmland. Additionally, a devastating cholera epidemic erupted in the Haitian's struggling homeland after the earthquake.

Democracy Now! spoke with Executive Director of Haitian Women of Miami Marleine Bastien, who provided much-needed perspective regarding this dire situation.

"Over 50,000 Haitians, some who have been living in the U.S. for an average of seven-and-a-half to 15 years, who have made their lives here, built their families, their homes and businesses here, are facing deportation to Haiti," Bastien noted. "So, Haiti, as we know, is not equipped and ready to absorb all these refugees. And when President Obama approved TPS, it was so that Haiti has a chance to recover."

Bastien also touched on the current state of the country, how, as a result of the chain of disasters, it is riddled with increasing rates of poverty and disease that even have forced people to live in caves.

"So, these people are really living in fear of deportation, because they have their families to consider, they have their businesses to consider, there are their homes, you know, to consider. So it is really creating and wreaking havoc in thousands of families in this country."

She also showcased the scale of just how many Haitian-Americans will be affected by this looming decision, a decision that was in direct contrast to Trump's "Haitian champion" campaign to attract voters.

To make the point, Bastien gave the example of Little Haiti in Miami: "Miami has the highest concentration of Haitians than any other places in the U.S. So, of course, many of the TPS holders, 40 percent of them, do live in Miami. And Little Haiti is a place that has been built by immigrants."

In addition to the personal lives of many Haitian-Americans, the decision to terminate TPS wouldn't bode well for businesses, either.

Disney World (which has over 500 employees of Haitian descent) and UNITE HERE (who represents many of the workers) have been advocating for the TPS extension. "The CEOs of Disney World did come out over a week ago advocating for TPS, because they have over 500 employees who have been model employees, because Haitian immigrants, like most immigrants in this country, are hard-working people. They work two, three jobs, and they have strong work ethics," Bastien said.

Given the vast array of suffering that is happening in Haiti right now, it would seem that the only humane thing to do would be to extend TPS. Knowing this current administration, though? We shall see …

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