AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
This week, we're starting a new segment called the Immigration Briefing.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
RASCOE: Through the midterm election, we'll get a weekly roundup and look ahead on the latest immigration news from NPR's team. This week, upheaval and chaos at immigration courts in Miami. Haitians in South Florida greet the end of temporary protected status with a mix of fear and resilience, and the latest on the pledge to outfit all ICE agents with body cameras. NPR's immigration correspondent Sergio Martínez-Beltrán joins me now. Welcome.
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN, HOST:
Hey, Ayesha, thanks for having me.
RASCOE: You've been reporting on several immigration stories out of South Florida. Before we go deeper into your reporting, I'm curious why Florida?
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: You know, the state of Florida as a whole is actively playing a key role in President Trump's immigration crackdown. The state Highway Patrol cooperates with the federal government. So, you know, they conduct traffic stops, and if the person is undocumented, they call ICE on them. But also there are so many immigrant communities in South Florida, specifically in Miami, right? Haitians, Cubans, Venezuelans. It's a very diverse place, but also a place where immigrants are increasingly vulnerable to Trump's immigration policies. So that's why I wanted to go.
RASCOE: What does it look like for South Florida to be one of the centers of immigration enforcement?
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: So one of several examples, Ayesha, is the federal immigration court in Miami. Lately, the line to enter the court stretches two to three blocks, and it's taking people hours to get into the courtroom. And there are multiple reasons for the long lines. You know, judges there are making people show up in person rather than via webcam. Judges are also moving up the court dates of folks. Also some immigration judges there are being assigned more than 100 cases daily. And this is new.
It's called mega master calendar hearings. And what this means is that a judge sees dozens of immigrants in mass hearings. The Trump administration says this is needed to deal with a massive backlog of immigration cases. But advocates down there say, all this is clearly by design to speed up deportations. Here's Billy Botsch (ph). He's a court observer with the American Friends Service Committee, which is a Quaker-run organization.
BILLY BOTSCH: You put more people into proceedings on shorter notice with less resources to go around to argue their case. You're going to end up with more removal orders. That doesn't necessarily mean people are going to be removed, but it does mean people are going to have to live without status and fear as kind of, like, an off-the-grid life.
RASCOE: So people are starting to live underground, including Haitians who recently lost their legal status. Tell us more about that.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Yeah. You know, South Florida is home to the largest Haitian community. Three hundred fifty thousand Haitians nationwide recently lost their temporary protected status, or TPS, and are now facing deportation. And let me tell you, Ayesha, it's eerie out there in Haitian neighborhoods. You know, Little Haiti is the heart of the Haitian community in South Florida, and usually it is bustling. There's a bunch of shops. There are churches, laundromats and a community center where people tend to hang out. And I was really surprised by how quiet and empty those places are.
Many Haitians in Little Haiti don't want to go out or to work, especially those who lost their TPS recently. You know, I talked to a registered nurse who is not leaving the house as much. A group that runs home health aide services for Holocaust survivors in South Florida says that they alone have lost 18 Haitian health aides. People are changing their routes. They're moving out of their homes - basically, living in hiding. Farrah Larreux (ph) has had TPS for 16 years. She says this new way of living is necessary to stay safe.
FARAH LARREUX: It has been a real fight to keep going, to keep going, to keep going. And I built my life here. So how you can ask me to put my life in a box and then to ship it to Haiti, where my life can be threatened because I am very vocal about what had going on in Haiti. So, for me, it's a death sentence if I go to Haiti.
RASCOE: A death sentence. That's a really strong way to put it.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Yeah. And that's how many Haitians see their potential deportation to their home country. Conditions in Haiti are pretty horrible and have gotten even worse. Armed gangs have taken over the capital and are expanding. I mean, according to the U.N., gangs recently massacred dozens of people, including many who were taking shelter inside a church. So this is why, for many Haitians, the cancellation of temporary protected status does not make sense. But, again, the Trump administration says TPS was never meant to be permanent.
RASCOE: Sergio, what are some of the things you and the immigration team will be paying attention to in the next couple of weeks?
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: So two things - body cameras for ICE agents. The Trump administration has vowed to equip all of them with body-worn cameras this month, but it's unclear whether they have been trained on them or whether they are using them at this point. And also the future of Salvadorans with TPS. They were supposed to lose their status, but the Trump administration is quietly extending it. But like body cameras, there are a lot of unanswered questions.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Sergio's Martínez-Beltrán, and this is the Immigration Briefing. Thank you so much.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
