Seven GOP Reps Join Democrats To Extend Haitian Deportation Protections
Seven GOP House members voted to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians ahead of a possible Supreme Court ruling on the issue.
Thursday’s vote to effectively grant amnesty and block the deportation of approximately 350,000 Haitian migrants passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 220 to 207.
Republican Party Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas, a vocal critic of the GOP-led DIGNIDAD (Dignity Act), wrote in a statement to the Daily Caller in response to Thursday’s vote: “The American people categorically reject mass immigration, and it is time for Congress to listen. We must reject any form of amnesty. If we reward illegal immigration, we only encourage more illegal immigration. It is time for Congress to give the priority to our people.” (RELATED: Trump Admin Kills Deportation Protections for Haitians Brought Under Biden)]
The final vote for the measure came just days after a Haitian illegal immigrant, Rolbert Joachin, fatally attacked a woman at a Fort Myers gas station on April 3, hitting her repeatedly in the head with a hammer, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press release.
DHS said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) helped local police find and arrest Joachin after the incident.
An administration official, responding to the seven GOP members voting in favor of the extension for Haitians in the country, noted that the vote comes just after the alleged murder of a Florida woman at the hands of a Haitian migrant.
Proud to join a bipartisan effort alongside Rep. Gillen to push for an extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. We were joined by Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Whip Katherine Clark, and a bipartisan group of our colleagues who are moving forward with a discharge petition for… pic.twitter.com/zcOTVHtpvm
– Congressman Mike Lawler (@RepMikeLawler) April 16, 2026
“Six days ago, a Haitian man beat a woman to death with a hammer. Yesterday, a Republican-majority Congress voted to keep 350,000 Haitians here, an average of 18 per city. The blood from this woman’s skull had barely dried in the cracks of the Florida sidewalk before pro-amnesty Republicans began marching on her grave in an effort to keep these ‘doctors and lawyers’ on our streets,” the official said in a statement to the caller. (RELATED: ‘They’re Scared’: Residents Say Haitians Are Leaving Springfield After Trump’s Election Win)
The vote also comes just days before the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Trump v. Miot, consolidated with the related Syrian TPS case, Mullin v. Doe. At the end of 2025, the Trump administration decided to end Haiti’s temporary protected status, setting the end date for February 3, a decision that would have affected approximately 350,000 beneficiaries.
However, a federal district court in Washington, D.C., blocked the dismissal in early February 2026, finding it likely illegal, and the D.C. Circuit later upheld that injunction.
The Supreme Court granted expedited review and will hear oral arguments on April 29, the last day of its April argument session.
Until the Court rules, the lower court’s stay remains in effect, so Haitian TPS protections, including work authorization, continue.
🚨WTF?! SIX “Republicans” just joined Democrats to ADVANCE a bill BANNING Trump from deporting illegal Haitians, 219-209
This comes just days after a Haitian murdered an innocent mother with a hammer.
The GOP has a MASSIVE RINO problem
These six must go:
– Salazar (from… pic.twitter.com/aNA6dvHJkI– Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 15, 2026
Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett further acknowledged the killing in Fort Myers, Florida, saying it was due to a “liberal mentality” where Haitians would leave the country and be brought to the United States in the hopes that they will change, but they do not.
Burchett suggested that lawmakers who support the policy might be motivated either by political considerations — like Haitian voters casting ballots — or by a more liberal worldview that he says is out of step with the country, adding that some people want to fundamentally remake the system. (RELATED: Gang attacks kill dozens in Haiti before international forces arrive, rights group says)
“I think there are probably Haitians in your district who vote. That’s a high rate, that would be the case. Or you just have a liberal mindset. And honestly, some people just have a real dislike for this country in a little bubble, thinking that they, you’re just going to do it. Tear it all down and rebuild it,” Burchett told the caller.
Similarly, Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles reiterated his strong opposition to any form of amnesty, saying he intends to actively oppose Republicans who support such measures. He argued that extending TPS to Haitians undermines U.S. sovereignty and amounts to a betrayal of national interests.
“I will never be an amnesty Republican and will spend every day of my congressional career destroying their goals to crush our sovereignty,” Ogles said in a statement to the caller. “TPS for Haitians is a national betrayal. »
The Daily Caller also reached out to Republican Reps. Greg Steube and Byron Donalds of Florida for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
