Haitians see potential lifeline as Trump is bucked by Congress on TPS program

“This is a clear message to him and his administration, so he understands where the people stand, and the people have spoken,” says Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance.

More than 350,000 Haitians living in the United States were handed a victory on Thursday after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to extend Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for Haitian migrants. The bipartisan 224-204 vote, which included 10 Republicans, bucks President Donald Trump’s move to terminate TPS status for Haitians, which the Department of Homeland Security deemed “inconsistent with U.S. national interests.”

“This is a monumental victory in a long-fought battle to protect the safety, dignity, and humanity of our Haitian neighbors,” said U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., who led the bipartisan discharge petition effort alongside Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y.

Pressley, in a statement to theGrio, said, “Democrats and Republicans alike came together to pass our legislation and support the safety, dignity, and humanity of Haitian TPS holders.”

The co-chair of the Congressional Haiti Caucus added, “This monumental victory marks a critical step forward in our defense of Black and brown immigrants who have been unfairly targeted. Lives are at stake, and the Senate must pass this without delay.”

Guerline Jozef, a longtime Haitian advocate and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, a grassroots immigration rights advocacy group, celebrated Thursday’s vote, telling theGrio it was an “extreme moment of gratitude, of excitement, of seeing the impossible becoming possible.”

Haitian Bridge Alliance and other immigrant rights and advocacy groups, like UndocuBlack and SEIU (Service Employees International Union), had been engaging with members of Congress on legislative action to protect the status of tens of thousands of Haitians who risked deportation as a result of the Trump administration’s decision to strip away their TPS protections.

For years, Haiti has been embroiled in deep poverty and violence amid political and economic instability. Haitian Americans would’ve been forced to return to a nation crippled by a multitude of crises.

Jozef said the discharge petition led by Pressley was an “uphill battle,” but ultimately the “commitment and fierce advocacy” of the progressive congresswoman and her staff moved Republican members — whose districts contain large populations of Haitian Americans — to support the bill.

Reflecting on the vote, Jozef, who was on Capitol Hill at the time, said she was “nervous” and “counting every single vote.” It also happened to be her birthday, making for the ultimate birthday gift on behalf of the thousands of Haitians she advocates for every day.

“I felt it was necessary for me to be there, standing in the gap for over 350,000 Haitian TPS holders and their families,” she told theGrio.

The discharge petition passed in the House will now go to the U.S. Senate, where it is uncertain as to whether it will advance. However, advocates are hopeful and urge the public to contact their U.S. Senators’ offices to request that they “stand on the right side of history” and vote yes on the bill.

“We understand that this is a hard fight, but we are clear-eyed,” said Jozef.

The vote in Congress to extend TPS for Haitians very clearly resists the actions of the Trump administration and sends a message to President Trump, who has targeted immigrants from Haiti and other majority Black and brown nations through travel bans, detentions, and deportations. The president has also sought to paint Black and brown immigrants as violent criminals.

Last week, the president posted a video of a Haitian immigrant man, Rolbert Joachin, murdering a Florida woman, also a Bangladeshi immigrant, with a hammer. Trump, who used the brutal video to justify his termination of TPS for Haitians, was condemned for using an isolated, tragic event to paint an entire community as violent or criminal.

“We understand that the majority, if not all, of the policies coming from the White House are deeply centered in anti-Black racism, especially anti-Haitian prejudice, and we know the President’s stand on Haiti,” Jozef told theGrio. “But we also know that this is a clear message to him and his administration, so he understands where the people stand, and the people have spoken. They said they want to continue to protect the lives of the Haitian TPS holders.”

Lawmakers representing Haitian communities and advocates point out that Haitian immigrants are major contributors to society, particularly in the health care industry, where they serve as caregivers for the elderly, and that they pay billions of dollars in taxes that support the U.S. economy.

If the discharge petition advances out of Congress, it would land on President Trump’s desk. Considering his initial move to terminate TPS for Haitians, it’s unclear whether the president can be compelled to change his mind.

However, there’s still a pending federal case challenging the Trump administration’s termination of TPS for Haitians. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently deliberating the case in which both the district and appeals courts ruled that the termination was unlawful. Its outcome will be consequential should legislative action prove unsuccessful.

In the meantime, Haitian immigrants are celebrating this week’s victory, seeing it as a lifeline that allows them to remain in the United States, where they now call home.

“This work today tells them that their voices have been heard,” said Jozef, “that their lives really matter, and that we will continue to fight for them.”