Hochul disclosed her conversation with Trump in an Aug. 14 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, first reported Monday by POLITICO and later released by the governor’s office.
“The callousness of abruptly ending TPS for legally-present individuals including the recent termination for Haitians and the forthcoming termination for Salvadorians will force New York State and local governments to sever the employment of hundreds of essential employees as soon as next week, putting their livelihoods — and potentially their safety — at risk,” Hochul wrote.
Hochul’s office said the “hundreds” figure was based on reports from local governments and preliminary estimates from state agencies and public authorities. The office did not provide a breakdown of how many affected workers are employed by the state or identify the agencies, authorities or municipalities included in the estimate.
The warning broadens a workforce problem already playing out in New York City.
Mamdani said last week that he personally appealed to Trump to restore protections for Haitian immigrants as City Hall moved to dismiss workers who lost their federal authorization to work.
City Hall said dozens of municipal employees were affected and that the administration was required by federal law to separate from workers who relied on Haitian TPS and could not establish another legal basis to work.
“I spoke with the president and made it very clear that this is something of immense importance to this city, to our economy, and to the welfare of all those who call this city home,” Mamdani said Aug. 10.
Hochul, meanwhile, warned that the consequences would extend beyond government payrolls.
“This impact is not limited to government workers and will be felt by private sector industries across our state,” she wrote. “The sudden removal of these members of our workforce and our communities will impact critical services that New Yorkers rely on — with a particularly heavy impact on the healthcare industry, putting our seniors and other vulnerable New Yorkers at risk.”
She called the White House’s actions a “reckless and inhumane act” and urged Mullin to “fully restore TPS for those who cannot return due to extreme instability, violence, and crises in TPS-designated countries.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson defended the administration’s position but did not address Hochul’s warning about hundreds of New York government workers.
“Temporary Protected Status is exactly that — temporary,” the spokesperson said in a statement to amNewYork. “For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent.”
“DHS responds to official correspondence through official channels,” the spokesperson added.
The dispute follows a June 25 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for the Trump administration to terminate TPS protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants. Hochul and Mamdani appeared together following that ruling, warning that ending the protections could strip work authorization from New Yorkers and disrupt the state and city workforce.
Mullin has previously defended the administration’s decision to end TPS, saying in June that affected immigrants could seek permanent residency or another temporary visa — or “choose to go back.” He also said the federal government would help Haitians and Syrians return to their home countries with a plane ticket and roughly $2,100 in assistance, remarks that drew sharp criticism from New York immigration advocates and elected officials.