Archbishop Warns: Trump Seeks to Strip TPS from 500,000 Cubans

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski issued a stern warning this week about the Trump administration’s attempts to eliminate temporary protections that keep 500,000 Cuban migrants in legal status in the United States.

”Like sending people into a burning building”

In a March 12 interview with EWTN News, Wenski denounced that ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) would be “like sending people into a burning building,” initially referring to Haiti but extending his concern to Cuba and other countries.

“A lot of people came here during the Biden administration on a special humanitarian visa. Over 500,000 people came to this country in that way,” the Archbishop explained. “That means that they never spent a day illegal in this country because they came here legally, invited by the U.S. government, if you will, given a humanitarian visa, and then all of a sudden, in one fell swoop, they become without legal status and are told to go home.”

Trump administration seeks Supreme Court support

This week, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to strip legal protections from Haitians living in the United States with TPS. The Justice Department requested the court to lift a judge’s Feb. 2 decision that blocked the Trump administration from ending TPS granted in 2010.

TPS provides hundreds of thousands of eligible Haitians in the U.S. with protection from deportation and work authorization, due to ongoing safety concerns in Haiti.

Economic and humanitarian impact

Wenski emphasized both humanitarian and economic aspects of this decision. “And the president is a businessman; he should understand that this would hurt business in a very, very real way.”

Working Haitians in the Miami Archdiocese “pay millions of dollars in taxes,” he noted. The city would lose workers benefiting the “full labor market” Miami has within the agriculture business, construction business, hospitality business, and health care.

Cuba situation: between hope and nervousness

Wenski also discussed how “Cubans in Miami are very hopeful that there will be some type of a regime change,” following the Trump administration suggesting a possible “friendly takeover” of the island nation.

“I would say Cubans in Cuba are also very hopeful, but everybody’s a bit nervous too,” he said. Based on conversation with members of the Cuban Church, “they’ve always been advocating a soft landing for when necessary changes come to Cuba.”

Church’s role as mediator

The Church has been a source to promote “dialogue” and “reconciliation,” Wenski said. “Right now, the Church in Cuba is cooperating with the United States” after Hurricane Melissa that affected Cuba several months ago.

Marco Rubio “approved $3 million from the U.S. government, and for the first time in history, the Cuban government accepted money coming from the U.S. government.” The money was distributed through Cáritas, the charity agency of the Church in Cuba.

After those first $3 million, the Trump administration also granted another $6 million for that hurricane, totaling $9 million in humanitarian aid distributed by the Catholic Church.

Current crisis in Cuba

“Right now, Cuba is being choked. There’s no food, there’s no fuel, there’s no freedom, and for many people, no hope,” Wenski described. “And so even with some changes coming to Cuba, it’ll be a long time before the economy can be rebooted to provide for the needs of the population on an island.”

FAQ: Frequently asked questions

What is TPS and who is affected? Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protects migrants from countries in crisis from being deported. Trump wants to eliminate it for 500,000 people including Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans who arrived with humanitarian parole during Biden’s administration.

Why is Archbishop Wenski’s opinion important? As leader of the Miami Archdiocese, Wenski represents one of the largest Catholic communities with Cuban and Haitian populations. His voice carries weight in both humanitarian affairs and migration policies.

What’s happening with aid to Cuba? For the first time in history, the Cuban government accepted $9 million in U.S. aid after Hurricane Melissa, distributed by the Catholic Church through Caritas Cuba.

What is the current legal situation? Trump asked the Supreme Court to eliminate TPS protections. A federal judge had previously blocked these attempts, but the administration seeks to overturn that decision.

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Sources: EWTN News, National Catholic Register, Angelus News

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