These days, thoughts of Husseen Sanon’s Haitian home no longer bring warmth or nostalgia. His mind is consumed with the unrelenting gang violence, the fear of kidnappings and constant worry for loved ones he left behind.

“People from Haiti love Haiti,” he said. “It was the first Black republic and it has a long history. When you leave, you leave behind friends, classmates, colleagues. It’s really hard. Sometimes you get news about the death of a loved one.”

Like many who have fled their country, Sanon is in the United States under Temporary Protected Status. As the name implies, it provides a temporary immigration status for people from countries that are too dangerous to return to because of armed conflict, environmental disasters or other crises. These individuals are shielded from deportation.

When Sanon left Haiti, he first moved to Montreal and has been in New Hampshire for two years now.

The federal protected status for Haitian immigrants allows Sanon and others to work in the United States and support themselves.

But the future for immigrants, particularly those from Venezuela and Haiti, has been uncertain since Donald Trump took office as president in January.

On Feb. 20, the Trump administration reduced the duration of protected status for Haitians, with the status set to expire on Aug. 3, 2025. Similarly, the protection for Venezuelans in the United States was also cut back, with a deadline of April 2, 2025.

Initially, the Biden administration extended protection for Haitians until Feb. 3, 2026, and for Venezuelans until Oct. 2, 2026, when they were set to expire without another extension.

Maribel Hernández Rivera, national director of Immigrant Community Strategies at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that by rolling back Temporary Protected Status timelines, the Trump administration is attempting to fulfill its campaign promise of mass deportations.

“This shows really cruelty at this point,” said Rivera. “What the administration is doing is they’re making people undocumented for the purpose of then being able to deport them to increase their numbers for mass deportations, as they’ve been saying.”

Sanon works in New Hampshire, but his parents live in Massachusetts and he makes weekly trips to visit them. He said many immigrants like him come to the United States to build a better life, not with the intention of breaking the law.

“We are here, as Haitian people, for a better life, to work, to provide for our families, to pay the bills, to pursue a profession,” said Sanon, who works for a non-profit in Milford. “We’re here for a more peaceful life. We’re all subjects of the law. We obey the laws.”

Kenly Jacques, a case manager with Building Community in New Hampshire, who has been working closely with the state’s Haitian community for seven years, said the situation in Haiti hasn’t improved, and for many, being forced to return would be life-threatening.

“Haiti is a very dangerous place now,” said Jacques. “When they heard about going back to Haiti, the first thing that came up in their mind is that being threatened to leave their hometown and go to another just to stay alive. It’s hard for them to accept the idea of going back to Haiti to live the same life again.”

Three groups, Haitian Americans United, the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, and the UndocuBlack Network filed a federal lawsuit in Boston challenging the Trump administration’s decision to end temporary deportation protections.

The United States first enacted the temporary protected status for some immigrants in 1990 to provide temporary relief from immigration enforcement for people displaced by humanitarian or environmental crises. It typically lasts 18 months, with extensions of 6, 12 or 18 months decided based on conditions in an individual’s home country.

Immigrants with work permits—whether through temporary protection, asylum, or employment-based visas like the H-1B—are required to pay local, state and federal taxes.

Despite this, Rivera said misconceptions persist about their contributions to society.

“Many of them have been here for decades contributing to the country,” said Rivera. “Now you’re going to pull them out? They’re working in essential jobs that are needed. This is going to really destabilize our whole economy.”

New Hampshire’s Haitian community is concentrated in cities including Concord, Nashua and Manchester.

Many work in the service and manufacturing industries such as restaurants, transportation and factories, often sharing apartments to make rent more affordable, said Jacques.

Foreign nationals from El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras and Ukraine, among others, are similarly protected from deportation.

Sanon said that while he hopes the deadline will be extended for himself and other immigrants, he knows it’s ultimately up to the government, which leaves him with few options.

While Sanon still loves Haiti, he can’t imagine going back.

“When we talk about people leaving and think about returning to Haiti, the question people ask themselves is, where can I go?” he said. “Where are all these people going to live? These armed groups occupy almost all the land.”

The Monitor’s interview with Husseen Sanon was conducted  in French. His quotes have been translated by Monitor reporter Rachel Wachman. Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com