SPLC Action Celebrates Temporary Protected Status for Haiti

MIAMI – SPLC Action Fund joins advocates in applauding the Biden administration for redesignating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals over the weekend. The following statement is from Neyissa Desir, outreach paralegal with the SPLC’s Immigrant Justice Practice Group. 

“We welcome the long-overdue redesignation of TPS for Haitians, a victory made possible by the tireless advocacy and organizing of Black and Haitian-led organizations, including the Haitian Bridge Alliance and Family Action Network Movement, as well as other leading movement voices. While we celebrate this victory, we recognize there is much more work to be done. 

“The U.S. has a long and shameful history of denying Haitian nationals the opportunity to seek refuge in the U.S. And we cannot forget that over the first months of the Biden administration, the government unconscionably ordered more than 30 deportation and expulsion flights to Haiti, even as DHS officials acknowledged the dangers faced by those returned. The TPS redesignation should mark a stark change of course in this administration’s Haitian immigration policy. 

“This action by the President to fulfill his campaign promises is the very least that can be done to mend the decades of harm inflicted upon Haiti and its people, and we will keep fighting until the Haitian community can lead dignified lives in the U.S. with permanent status. Next, the Biden administration must reinstate the Haitian Family Reunification Parole program and work with Congress to provide a path to citizenship for TPS holders.”