Many businesses in Florida employ workers who have immigrated to the United States but are not citizens, but are working legally based on their protected status and legal entry.
However, the rules on immigration law are changing often.
For instance, the temporary protected status of Haitians ends on September 2, 2025. At that point in time, any Haitian who is in the United States with temporary protected status will be ineligible to work in the United States.
In Florida, approximately one in five Haitians reside and work with temporary protected status, nearly 150,000 Haitians. They are all expected to return to Haiti at that time.
Haitians are not alone. The U.S. Government has talked about ending Temporary Protected Status for several countries, including Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and more.
It's the responsibility of the business owner to understand how immigration law and business law are changing and then act. Not following the laws and employing individuals who have their status changed can cause significant issues for businesses.
Because of that, all businesses that are not U.S. citizens must be prepared to suddenly replace workers.
The attorneys at The Orlando Law Group can help businesses be prepared for any change that might come with employee immigration statuses.
Self-perform an audit of your employees
As a business that follows laws, you, of course, took all the necessary steps when you employed a foreign national in the United States with temporary protected status. You had them fill out an I-9 form to self-report their status. Then, if you have more than 25 employees, you checked their status with E-Verify, to follow Florida laws.
Once clear, you hired the employee, and you probably didn't think about it again.
That attitude may get you in trouble with the federal government.
One of the first things you will need to do is to review any and all immigration forms to determine why the employee is eligible to work in the United States and group them together, along with the country of origin.
This will help you keep track of what you are looking for.
Can you predict change?
Unfortunately, the changes to immigration law are coming quickly and can change at a moment's notice.
On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a devastating 8-1 vindication of the Trump Administration and stinging indictment of judicial activism, granted the government's request for an emergency stay of Judge Edward Chen's order inNational TPS Alliance, et al., v. Kristi Noem et al., No. 3:25-cv-01766 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 31, 2025). Based on the Supreme Court's May 19 order, the erroneous March 31, 2025, district court order in case No. 3:25-cv-1766 is stayed pending the disposition of the government's appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Thus, TPS for Venezuelans with April 3, 2025 documentation has terminated pursuant to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's Feb. 5, 2025 decision toterminateTPS under the 2023 designation for Venezuela.On May 30, 2025, the district court in case No. 3:25-cv-1766 ordered that—pending resolution of the litigation—TPS beneficiaries who received TPS-related employment authorization documents (EADs), Forms I-797, Notices of Action, and Forms I-94 issued with October 2, 2026 expiration dates on or before February 5, 2025 will maintain that status, and their documentation will remain valid during the course of the litigation.This includes TPS-related EADs with a "Card Expires" date of April 2, 2025, when combined with a Notice of Action indicating the Form I-765 renewal application was received on or before February 5, 2025, that automatically extendsemployment authorization and EADsfor up to 540 days from the date on the face of their EADs. All TPS-related documentation with a validity date of October 2, 2026, received after February 5, 2025, is no longer valid and those individuals under the 2023 designation no longer have TPS.
While it is difficult to read, it shows there have been at least four changes to the TPS of Venezuelans in the first six months of the year.
These changes are complicated and unfortunately, there is no notification coming to alert businesses of changes.
It's up to the business owner to check the status
Today, the federal government is asking business owners to take action on their own to make sure they are complying with immigration law and business law.
While the government will contact any individual about a change in their status, they will not notify an employer. If a business owner does nothing and the employee doesn't notify the owner, there could be serious repercussions.
As of June 20, 2025, the Federal government is asking all employers to start using a new "Status Change Report" for each employee who is working in the United States on some type of visa.
With this report, you can check individual status and find out if their visa has been revoked either from an individual action or from a change in group status.
Depending on the number of employees who are working with a visa, this can become onerous for the business, but it is an important step to take, particularly with some visa types, along with certain nationalities.
You can learn how to perform these reports on the E-Verify website.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
