WEST PALM BEACH, Florida—More than 1,000 people rallied here October 24 to demand the U.S. government grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitian immigrants. Buses brought people from Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach, and as far away as Orlando, Florida.

TPS would grant undocumented Haitians temporary residency status and the ability to obtain work authorization. In the past TPS has been granted to immigrants from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Somalia, Burundi, and Sudan.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) temporarily suspended deportations of Haitians without papers this summer, after four storms caused massive flooding in Haiti. But ICE is still arresting Haitians without documents and keeping them jailed. The U.S. Coast Guard is intercepting and sending back Haitians at sea who are trying to reach U.S. soil.

The rally was organized by the Haitian Citizen United Task Force, which said it is now planning a rally in Washington, D.C.

—DEBORAH LIATOS AND MARGARET TROWE