What Losing Work Authorization Could Mean For NYC Labor

NEW YORK, NY— For more than 5,400 Haitian immigrants in New York City, a federal judge’s Aug. 5 ruling to end Temporary Protected Status could mean losing work authorization and deportation protections.

TPS allowed eligible Haitians to remain in the United States and obtain work authorization.

Terri Gerstein, director of the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative and a former New York state labor enforcement official, said the loss of TPS could make workers more vulnerable to workplace exploitation and unsafe conditions.

“You are creating a population of far more vulnerable individuals who are going to be susceptible to this," Gerstein said.

Gerstein pointed to the care economy, including nursing homes and other care institutions, where immigrant workers perform critical jobs.

Immigrants made up 56 percent of the state’s direct-care workforce, according to the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute.

The loss of TPS could also create staffing problems for employers if workers lose authorization and leave their jobs.

Gerstein spent more than 17 years enforcing labor laws in New York, including as labor bureau chief in the state Attorney General’s Office and deputy commissioner at the Department of Labor.

For TPS holders who remain in their jobs, federal and state labor laws generally continue to protect their workplace rights regardless of immigration status, she said.

“This is not a green light to exploit people, and the law still apply," she warned to employers.

The end of TPS does not erase workers’ rights to wages they already earned or to safe workplaces. And, a worker whose TPS ends after an alleged violation occurred also does not lose the underlying labor claim.

The more immediate problem, Gerstein said, is whether workers will feel safe enough to report those violations.

A worker could fear that an employer will use the loss of immigration status as leverage.

Gerstein described a potential scenario in which an employer threatens to report a worker to immigration authorities if the worker continues pursuing a wage claim.

Even without an explicit threat, she said, workers may avoid government agencies altogether because they fear immigration consequences.

That can make violations harder to detect.

How Do Labor Agencies Find Workers Who Are Afraid To Complain?

Labor agencies work with worker centers, unions and community organizations that can connect workers with government investigators, Gerstein said.

Others conduct proactive investigations in industries where officials know violations are common.

“Having those close community relationships is really has really been central for a lot of agencies,” Gerstein said.

For workers who have lost TPS, that network could serve as a bridge between a workplace problem and an enforcement agency.

For employers that already operate on the margins of labor law, the new immigration vulnerability could create an opportunity to pressure workers into accepting unpaid wages, unsafe conditions or other violations.

Where Is The Impact Showing Up In Brooklyn?

The City is home to roughly 115,000 Haitian residents, according to City data.

Brooklyn has one of the largest Haitian communities in the country, with a major concentration in Flatbush and East Flatbush.

The community's commercial center includes Nostrand Avenue, where Haitian restaurants, grocery stores, beauty businesses and other shops serve residents from across the borough.

Business owners have already reported changes following the TPS termination.

A Brooklyn Haitian restaurant manager said that the business laid off eight of its 13 employees after the ruling.

The manager also said Nostrand Avenue had become quieter as residents worried about what losing protected status could mean for them and their families.

What Is NYC Doing?

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has positioned City government as a buffer between affected immigrants and federal immigration enforcement.

"Especially Haitian and Syrian New Yorkers who have been left all too vulnerable with the revocation of their temporary protected status, because here in New York, we recognize New Yorkers as exactly that — New Yorkers," Mamdani said at a Wednesday press conference.

Mamdani pointed to an executive order he signed in February that strengthened the City’s sanctuary protections, including requiring a citywide review of how agencies interact with federal immigration authorities.

The order also limits ICE access to City property without a judicial warrant.

What Is New York State Doing About ICE?

Hochul has also backed measures aimed at limiting state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

At Wednesday’s press conference, she also announced $7.25 million in state funding for legal services for about 1,400 unaccompanied immigrant children across New York.

“Just when you think it can't get any worse, the Trump administration has found a brand new way to hurt children, innocent children, cutting off legal services for unaccompanied minors,” Hochul said.

Hochul and James sued the federal government in June over New York laws restricting local cooperation with ICE and establishing additional protections around immigration enforcement.

The state has also moved to unwind federal 287(g) agreements with local law enforcement agencies.

The state’s approach does not prevent ICE from enforcing federal immigration law. Instead, the measures seek to limit when state and local governments can assist federal immigration enforcement.

The City has also expanded immigration legal services by more than $30 million, bringing its total investment to more than $150 million, Mamdani said.

TPS recipients can seek free legal consultations and referrals through the City’s immigration support hotline at 1-800-354-0365 or by calling 311 and asking for immigration legal services.