Schumer urges Senate Republicans to protect TPS for 350,000 Haitians
The Senate Democratic leader says ending the status would hurt the US economy, while the Haitian Bridge Alliance calls it an 'S.O.S. moment'.
WASHINGTON, United States. US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday, July 22, urged Senate Republicans to "stand up to Trump's vilification of Haitians" and protect Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians living in the United States.
Speaking on the Senate floor, the New York senator said Haitians were "a critical part of our economy, culture and society".
"Donald Trump is trying to tear it apart by terminating Haiti's Temporary Protected Status," he said. "Now, Trump is trying to force Haitians who are here legally to return to the dangerous conditions they fled in Haiti."
Economic case
Schumer said that in New York, "you can't go into a hospital, nursing home, or clinic without seeing scores of dedicated health care professionals who are fiercely proud of their Haitian heritage". He said he had heard warnings that expelling TPS holders would strain the health system and leave a gap in the caregiving workforce.
"Haitian TPS holders add nearly US$6 billion to the US economy each year," he said. "It's cruel, it's counterproductive."
He said sending 300,000 people to Haiti with little support would further destabilise "an already severe humanitarian and security crisis on our country's doorstep", and urged colleagues to support Democratic legislation to preserve the status.
'S.O.S. moment'
The San Diego-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) called it "an S.O.S. moment for the Haitian community".
Executive director Guerline Jozef noted that the US Supreme Court on June 25 allowed the termination of TPS for Haiti to proceed, "placing approximately 350,000 Haitian TPS holders at risk of losing their work authorisation, protection from deportation, and the lives they have built".
With the official end of TPS a day away, Jozef said HBA would keep fighting "until the very last day". She said more families were turning to the group every day after losing jobs and income, needing help with food, rent, legal representation and emergency plans.
"Many have already started to be deported to Haiti, a country the US Government itself recognises as dangerously unsafe," she said.
"This is not only an immigration issue," Jozef added. "It is a question of family, dignity, justice, and who we choose to be as a nation."
