House advances bill to shield Haitian immigrants in defiance of Trump
The House voted Wednesday in favor of a measure that would restore temporary protections for Haitians living in the United States, with six Republicans voting alongside Democrats to oppose a key part of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
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The measure, introduced through a parliamentary move known as a discharge petition by Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus, won a key procedural vote to move on to a final vote scheduled for Thursday. The legislation aims to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to eligible Haitian immigrants for a period of three years.
“This is a critical step in our fight for justice for immigrants and to provide our Haitian neighbors with the protections they deserve – and it is a testament to the strength of our broad, diverse, bipartisan coalition,” Pressley said in a statement, adding that she was “grateful” to her Republican colleagues who voted for the measure.
The legislation was first introduced in the Republican-controlled House by Reps. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., last year.
“The State Department claims it is too dangerous for U.S. citizens to travel to Haiti because of kidnappings, gang violence and widespread chaos, but yet the administration has said it is safe for Haitians to return,” Gillen said on the House floor Wednesday.
She said that “driving our neighbors apart would not only be a humanitarian catastrophe; it would harm our economy,” adding that Haitian immigrants “work in critical sectors like health care, education, caregiving, supporting our elderly, and working in local hospitals.”
Temporary protected status allows foreign nationals from countries facing war, environmental disasters, or other dangerous conditions to live and speak in the United States for a period of time.
The Trump administration tried to end the temporary protected status of about 350,000 Haitian immigrants last summer, but a federal judge stopped the move. The administration appealed the decision shortly after the judge postponed the layoffs indefinitely in an order issued in February. It is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court this month.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday’s vote.
The House voted 219-209 on the discharge request to force a vote on Lawler and Gillen’s bill, with Republican Reps. María Elvira Salazar and Carlos A. Gimenez of Florida, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Don Bacon of Nebraska and Lawler and Nicole Malliotakis of New York voting in favor alongside 212 Democrats and one independent. Members can use discharge petitions to circumvent leaders who object to holding votes on bills.
“Removing TPS status for Haitians living in the United States would cost 350,000 workers their ability to work at a time when we are already facing severe labor shortages,” Bacon said on
He added that he has heard from health care providers and business leaders in Nebraska who are sounding the alarm about the impact deporting Haitian immigrants could have on patient care and the economy.
Malliotakis said in his own post that his office has heard from nursing homes in his New York district “that would lose qualified and dedicated nursing staff if TPS is not renewed.”
“These are Haitian immigrants who work, pay taxes, contribute to our economy and meet a health care need. Stripping them of their status and deporting them to a country in danger would be cruel and ill-advised,” she wrote.
The vote comes less than a week after Trump released a graphic video in which a man smashes an SUV parked outside a Florida gas station with a hammer before using the hammer to attack a woman who left the store to confront him. The man beat the woman then fled, according to the Fort Myers Police Department arrest report. First responders pronounced the woman dead. A suspect, identified as Rolbert Joachin, was subsequently arrested and charged with homicide. Following the attack, the Department of Homeland Security said Joachin was an undocumented immigrant from Haiti.
Trump blamed congressional Democrats, “deranged liberal district court judges” and the Biden administration on Truth Social for supporting policies that he said allowed Joachin to receive temporary protected status.
