A local Miami business owner who voted for President Donald Trump said he may have to shut down several of his locations in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the administration to end temporary protective status for Haitian immigrants.
Speaking with CBS Evening News on Friday, Wilkinson Sejour said he has lost his entire management team at seven locations of his Chef Creole restaurants.
“The end of TPS means for me that my future in the hospitality business is almost gonna be nonexistent,” Sejour said.
He added he will likely have to shut down two of his locations after 34 years in business.
According to CBS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers made an immigration arrest outside of one of Sejour’s restaurants.
Asked what he would say to Trump if given the chance, Sejour said he thought the president would be a friend to small businesses.
“He sold to me that he is a businessman and that he would be making business decisions,” Sejour said, noting his regret in his vote for Trump.
The Supreme Court’s decision in June stripped temporary protective status from nearly 400,000 people lawfully living in the U.S. The case specifically focused on whether former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem followed the law when she terminated temporary protective status for Haiti and Syria.
Temporary protective status for Haitians and Syrians officially ended on July 27.
Watch a clip of Sejour’s interview with CBS Evening News below.