The Biden administration is expanding a humanitarian program to allow about 309,000 Haitians in the United States to stay and work legally.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced Friday that he is renewing and redesignating Haiti to Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Under TPS, foreign nationals of a designated country are protected from deportation and permitted to work in the U.S. as long as the designation remains in effect.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that Mayorkas designated Haiti on June 3, extending the country’s TPS for the maximum period of 18 months.
The TPS renewal means the nearly 165,000 Haitians covered by the previous renewal and redesignation in December 2022, in addition to approximately 309,000 Haitians who took up residence in the U.S. by June 3 of this year.
“We are providing this humanitarian assistance to Haitians already present in the United States, given the conditions that existed in their country of origin on June 3, 2024,” Mayorkas said in a statement.
“In doing so, we are realizing the central purpose of the TPS law and our obligation to comply with it.”
Immigration advocates have sharply criticized the Biden administration over repatriation flights to Haiti, a country that has been in a tailspin since the 2021 assassination of former President Jovenel Moïse.
In May, nine Democratic lawmakers led by Sen. Edward Markey (Mass.) and Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Yvette Clarke (NY), and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (Florida) called Mayorkas to stop repatriation flights to Haiti.
But Friday’s announcement, like the one in 2022, drew praise from advocates.
“President Biden’s redesignation of TPS for Haiti is welcome news for so many families who are unable to return to their home country due to violence and instability. As thousands of Haitians are displaced and half of them are children, we thank the Biden-Harris administration for their commitment to keeping families together,” said Immigration Center Executive Director Kerri Talbot.
“Following recent executive action that provided similar relief to Dreamers and undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens, it is clear that this administration is committed to building a safer, more humane system for all of us.”
But some advocates said it took a substantial effort to get the Biden administration to agree to expand TPS to Haiti.
“It’s very unfortunate – although we welcome the announcement – but the fact that we have to continue to prove humanity and that people deserve protection – we hope that changes in the future and that it doesn’t have to be a battle for that to happen,” said Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance.
Friday’s announcement will cover Haitians who arrived in the country after November 6, 2022 and until the new deadline of June 3. These approximately 309,000 people will be eligible to apply for work permits, which could ease economic pressure on them and their communities.
“Extending and redesignating TPS is the correct course of action considering TPS-eligible individuals contribute nearly $31 billion annually to the U.S. economy. Haitian TPS recipients contribute $4.4 billion to the American economy in 2022,” Jozef said in a statement.
Haitian communities in the United States celebrated the changewhich occurred days after a Kenyan police force was sent to Haiti as part of an international plan to re-stabilize it.
Shortly after the resignation of former incumbent President and Prime Minister Ariel Henry, Haiti was governed by a Transitional Presidential Council that includes members from different political groups, including the 30th of January group, which includes the PHTK party.
Haiti’s current political situation began under the leadership of PHTK – Moïse was a member – and many other groups blame the party for the state of the country.
“This action on TPS is an important step in responding to the horrific conditions in Haiti in a humane and lawful way,” said Brian Concannon, executive director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti.
“But long-term management of Haiti’s immigration pressures requires the United States to stop supporting the repressive and corrupt Haitian leaders – especially those linked to the PHTK party – who have generated the brutality and despair that Haitians are fleeing. “
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
