NEW YORK — Tens of thousands of Haitians faced the prospect of leaving the United States or being deported, with the special protected status allowing them to live and work legally in the country expired yesterday.

The Supreme Court said last month the Trump administration could end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and some 6,000 Syrians without judicial review, although the impact of the decision could apply to migrants from many other backgrounds.

An estimated 350,000 Haitians live in the United States under the programme, with many working in healthcare and construction.

The president of the New York Nurses Association Nancy Hagans told AFP that thousands of her members would be unable to work following the end of TPS for Haitians from the end of yesterday.

“What the government just did was take resources not only from the hospitals, from the nursing homes, from the underserved communities (but) also taking away economic value from our communities,” she said.

One Haitian healthcare worker in the US under TPS for many years said she was still deciding where to go next.