To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for temporary protected status.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 1689.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, for 4 years, our Nation suffered the largest illegal, mass migration in history at the hands of the Democrats. The cost to our country is immense: hospitals overrun with illegals demanding care; food pantries and homeless shelters overwhelmed; classrooms packed with non-English speaking students; rampant child, sex, and labor trafficking; hundreds of thousands of Americans dead from fentanyl overdoses; suppressed wages for working families; billions in welfare costs to support this population; and, worst of all, the introduction of the most violent criminals and criminal gangs and cartels in the world into our communities.

President Trump reversed these ruinous policies simply by enforcing our existing immigration laws. Illegal border crossings immediately plunged more

than 95 percent. The largest illegal mass migration in history is now being followed by the largest legal deportation in history, although the Democrats are doing everything they can to obstruct it.

One aspect of this deliberately engineered nightmare was the abuse of so-called temporary protected status. It proved Ronald Reagan's maxim that there is nothing more permanent on this Earth than a temporary government program.

Now, as its name implies, temporary protected status is supposed to provide temporary residency to legal aliens who happened to be visiting here when a disaster in their own country temporarily prevented their safe return. The Democrats turned this temporary program into an open- ended and unconditional invitation for aliens to illegally enter our country and then remain indefinitely.

Under Biden, the number of TPS beneficiaries nearly quadrupled in just 4 years as aliens illegally entered our country in order to claim this status.

The Immigration and Nationality Act not only gives the President the power to extend temporary status as Biden did, it also gives the President the power to withdraw that status when it is no longer applicable or in the interests of our country, as this President has done.

Barack Obama granted temporary protected status to Haitian nationals in this country when Haiti suffered an earthquake in 2010. For 16 years, this status has persisted in different iterations, including multiple designations, redesignations, and extensions.

During the Trump administrations, the Department of Homeland Security has attempted to end this temporary status for Haiti, noting that allowing hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens to reside in our country indefinitely is counter to our national interests. The vast majority of these TPS beneficiaries under Biden did not enter the country legally only to find themselves stranded by unfortunate events, rather they entered our country illegally to claim such status, encouraged, aided, and abetted by the Democrats in power.

Indeed, as the House Judiciary Committee documented in a report early last year, of the roughly 340,000 Haitian TPS holders, 312,000, 91 percent, came to the United States illegally. Their reward for committing this crime was a work permit and indefinite protection from deportation; and, yes, illegal entry into this country is a Federal crime.

Abuses like these allowed the TPS program to balloon from roughly 410,000 when Biden took office to nearly 1.5 million aliens from 16 different countries by the day he left office.

As the number of aliens with TPS skyrocketed, American communities such as Logansport, Indiana; Springfield, Illinois; and Charleroi, Pennsylvania, cried out for help. Charleroi's population of 4,000 swelled to 7,000 almost overnight as a flood of Haitian nationals took up residence.

The little town was forced to spend $400,000 for English language instructors and $1 million overall just to support the influx of students. This was all taken from the resources that would otherwise have been available to their own students.

Our Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee took testimony last year from a local official there, who told us of severe strains on housing, medical care, education, emergency services, law enforcement services, and other social services. He testified to a dramatic increase in traffic collisions and citizens of this peaceful, small town now afraid to walk the streets.

The Trump administration has heeded the cries of the American people. Since taking office, the President has moved to withdraw TPS status for foreign nationals whose conditions no longer warrant such status. In other cases, the Trump administration has determined that these TPS designations are simply not in our Nation's self-interest.

These decisions are clearly provided for under the Immigration and Nationality Act, but today my Democratic colleagues argue that we should ignore all of this, that we should return to the Biden administration's immigration policies, starting with Haitian TPS. If this bill passes, I think we can expect TPS status to be extended to the millions more who wish to exploit our country and its taxpayers.

Americans will not soon forget the image of thousands of illegal aliens from Haiti pouring across the southwest border and crowding under the bridge in Del Rio, Texas. Put simply, this bill would serve as de facto amnesty for hundreds of thousands of aliens from Haiti who illegally poured across our southern border. America does not need to relive that nightmare, and that is a choice.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the bill today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman tells us that Haitian TPS recipients contribute to our society. Well, no doubt some do. Overall, though, nearly 53 percent of Haitian households are on at least one major welfare program. Let me repeat that so that it sinks in. More than half of Haitian households are on welfare. That means they are taking from our society, not contributing to it.

Indeed, an exhaustive study in 2017 estimated that the average illegal immigrant costs taxpayers between $87,000 and $110,000 to support over a lifetime. That is a net drain after you account for the taxes that they pay. That is a minimum $27 billion cost to American taxpayers to maintain this population.

We are told many Haitian nationals fill healthcare jobs. Well, yes, they take healthcare jobs that would otherwise be filled by Americans. If Americans aren't taking those jobs, it is because cheap, migrant labor is suppressing wages in those sectors. That is why working families lost ground under the Biden administration.

As our immigration laws are enforced, wages for working families are again beginning to rise. This bill takes us a giant step backward for Americans, and that shouldn't surprise anyone who saw the Democrats' reaction on this floor when President Trump suggested that the first responsibility of this government should be to help Americans, not illegal immigrants.

Mr. Speaker, I am now honored and pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman said that Haitian TPS holders all entered this country through the front door legally. That is simply untrue. Yes, about 9 percent entered legally on visas; 91 percent entered illegally.

She tells us that Haiti is a dangerous place, and, therefore, our country must accept every Haitian who can illegally enter our country and then stay indefinitely.

Haiti isn't the only dangerous country in the world. Do the Democrats seriously argue that this is grounds for TPS for the hundreds of millions of people around the world who live in dangerous environments? This is absurd.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gill).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Fine).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman tells us that we have no choice as a

matter of humaneness but to accept these refugees into our

country who are fleeing danger. This is the only refuge

that they have.

That is simply not true. Bill Melugin of FOX News was at the border in 2021 when 15,000 Haitians bum-rushed our border. He just tweeted out his recollection of the events, and let me read them to you:

``Many of them later discarded their IDs and paperwork showing they had been living and working in South American countries for years (mostly Chile) as they prepared to make fraudulent asylum claims. Their documents were all over the ground. We collected many of them.''

They are not seeking refuge in the United States because they had already found refuge in other countries. They came here to exploit our system, an exploitation that the Democrats insist on aiding, abetting, and encouraging.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close when the gentlewoman concludes, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Again, the Democrats tell us that Haiti is a dangerous place, and I have news for them: Most of the world's population lives in dangerous places.

Do the Democrats seriously argue that Americans are obligated to admit hundreds of millions of people living in those dangerous places into the United States and then support them?

That appears to be their policy, and that certainly is what we have seen from them whenever they have taken power. It is what happens when governments become corrupt and refuse to protect innocent citizens from violent predators who roam the streets.

This should come as no surprise to Americans living in blue cities where leftist DAs refuse to prosecute dangerous criminals and prefer to release dangerous, criminal illegal aliens back onto our streets rather than turn them over to ICE to be removed from our country.

That is what comes when you allow hundreds of thousands of unvetted illegal aliens into our country from violent and lawless societies like Haiti.

Yes, many of these people are fleeing these conditions. Many others are creating them. Why would you allow the latter into our country to create the same violence and lawlessness?

That is why we have immigration laws: to separate out the good from the bad. There are good and bad in every community, but we need to keep the bad out. That is what the Democrats seek constantly to undermine.

This argument not only flies in the face of common sense, but it makes a mockery of the entire temporary protected status provisions of our immigration law. The law was designed to ensure that foreign nationals legally in our country, who are prevented from returning home because of temporary conditions, could remain here until those conditions have abated.

That law was never envisioned to allow aliens fleeing those conditions to seek permanent residence in America by illegally entering our country. Yet, that is precisely what the Democrats are turning this program into with this bill today.

If we don't enforce our immigration laws, we have no immigration laws. If we have no immigration laws, we have no border. If we have no border, then we have no country.

This bill makes a mockery of a program meant to provide temporary refuge for legal residents. This temporary status for Haitians has now gone on for 16 years. Ninety-one percent of these TPS holders are not legal visitors temporarily stranded in our country. Rather, they are illegal aliens who broke our laws specifically to benefit from TPS status.

The vast majority entered illegally during the Biden era of open borders. They overwhelmed local communities. Among this population came violent criminals who we can only count as they commit heinous atrocities like the one we saw in Fort Myers just 9 days ago.

When the President asked the Democrats to stand if they agreed that the first duty of the American Government is to protect the American people and not illegal aliens, not one of them stood. It shouldn't surprise us that they now bring this bill as the first step toward returning to the open-border policies of the Biden administration.

America, take heed. As this debate has once again made painfully clear, if the Democrats return to power, their first order of business will be to reopen our borders and allow the illegal mass migration into this country to continue. We can expect temporary protected status to become permanent protected status for every nationality the Democrats favor on the thinnest of pretexts. They have repeatedly made their intentions clear: to continue the ruinous open-border policies of the Biden administration.

I, for one, reject that bleak, lawless, impoverished, and violent future. I ask the House to reject it as well by rejecting this, the first in a long line of Democrat open-border bills.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I rise today to underscore the critical importance of maintaining temporary protected status, or TPS, for Haiti.

TPS allows nationals from designated countries facing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or extraordinary conditions to live and to work legally in the United States until it is safe to return to their homeland.

First of all, I would like to thank my colleague Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware for leading this effort in the U.S. Senate. Thank you.

I want to thank the Senator from New York, Mr. Schumer, for his statement today, which is basically reflecting the views of millions of Americans who are outraged at what is transpiring and affecting dramatically the Haitian community in the United States.

I would really like to thank Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley for leading the successful effort in the House of Representatives to extend Haiti's TPS designation. I am also thankful to Congresswoman Pressley for her partnership, not only today but in her yearslong fight to advocate for our Haitian-American communities.

In January of this year, we cohosted a field hearing in Massachusetts to hear from Haitian TPS holders, business and union leaders, and advocates about the importance of Haiti TPS.

And in April, alongside Senator Van Hollen and Congresswoman Wassermann Schultz, we led an amicus brief in the Supreme Court on behalf of 180 Members of Congress in support of Haiti and Syria TPS.

But last month, the Supreme Court delivered a devastating ruling in the case. The far-right Justices green-lit the Trump administration's unlawful, racist termination of TPS for Haiti and for Syria. The Court failed a test of morality. It slammed the doors of justice in the face of more than a million TPS holders, including 45,000 Haitian TPS holders in Massachusetts. It is an outrage; it is a travesty.

For years, Donald Trump has demonized and attacked Haitian TPS holders. Trump has spewed racist, cruel lies about Haitians.

We know that Trump does not want to make America great again. Trump wants to make America hate again. That is what these policies represent--to make America White again.

And to do so, he is terminating the critical TPS protections that nearly hundreds of thousands of Haitians rely on. The Trump administration plans to force Haitian TPS holders to return to dangerous and life-threatening conditions.

But Haiti continues to confront overlapping crisis, political instability, widespread violence, and a humanitarian emergency that has strained every single facet of daily life.

In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, in September of 2016, I traveled to Haiti to deliver relief goods and meet with aid providers, even amidst devastation. The resilience of the Haitian people was palpable.

At the time, the country was still battling the cholera epidemic caused by the U.N. peacekeepers after the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed thousands and thousands and thousands of Haitians. Haiti faced this crisis without sufficient international support.

And, ultimately, I led the effort to get the United Nations to apologize to Haiti for what the U.N. had done to that country. And, finally, the United Nations did that.

I came away from that trip knowing that Haiti would continue to hurt and that the United States should do everything in its power to help the Haitian people.

Sadly, Haiti is still hurting. Haiti's security crisis is eroding the promise and future of an entire nation. Armed groups now exert control over much of Port-au-Prince. Kidnappings, targeted violence, and blockades have made it difficult for people to reach hospitals, attend school, and access basic services.

At the same time, natural disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, and recurrent flooding have further damaged infrastructure that was already stretched to its limits.

Together, these forces have left millions without certainty or without security. It is clear that Haitian TPS holders cannot return home safely.

And yet--and yet--the State Department currently advises American citizens against traveling to Haiti because of the dangers and instability. That is utter hypocrisy. You can't tell Americans it is too dangerous to go to Haiti and then say that you are going to tell 350,000 Haitians that they have got to go back to a place that is too dangerous for any American to go and visit.

It is protected status. It is protecting them against that which is too dangerous.

Instead of meeting this undeniable humanitarian catastrophe with compassion, the Trump administration has chosen to compound the trauma. And this brings us to the dangerous and politically cruel reality that Haitian TPS holders face today in our country.

For families with children born here--American children--it may mean a choice no parent should ever be forced to make: tearing their family apart or taking a child who has never stepped foot outside of the United States into danger in a country that child has never lived in and that the State Department is telling every American is too dangerous to go to. But parents may have to take children into that situation.

Imagine a mother or a father sitting at their kitchen table tonight, looking across at their child and trying to decide if that child has a better chance of survival returning to Haiti, a country consumed by violence, or staying in the United States, separated from the loving care of their parents.

If we do not act, this is the brutal reality of family separation that will play out in thousands of homes across this country. Families are being forced to endure agonizing and impossible calculations. We cannot stand by while hundreds and thousands of Haitians who have lived and worked and built lives in the United States are suddenly staring into an abyss of uncertainty.

What of the daily life for those who will remain? The moment these protections lapse, TPS holders--who have been here legally for years working, paying taxes, and raising families--will stare down the looming threat of detention and deportation.

That is what the Trump administration wants: to give ICE agents more work to do on our streets, to give his private army the authority to arrest a million more people to meet racist, cruel quotas. And no one should have to live through that constant fear of a sudden knock on the door or the panic of a random traffic stop.

To strip Haitians of their status of protection, which we have given them because of the catastrophic conditions that still exist in Haiti, is to strip them of their agency, of their safety, of their peace of mind.

Haitian TPS holders are Massachusetts. They are the United States. They are hard working. They are kind. They are resilient. They are strong in the face adversity and deeply committed to the communities in which they live, whether it is Mattpan or Brockton or Malden. And the same thing is true for all across our country.

A Haitian TPS holder is a friend and home-health aide who has taken care of grandma or grandpa for years. A Haitian TPS holder is a coworker and a construction worker that has helped build homes in our neighborhoods.

A Haitian TPS holder is a neighbor and a small business owner on Blue Hill Avenue who helps support the livelihoods of others.

Haitian TPS holders are essential workers. They are nurses. They are home health aides, educators, grocery store workers. They keep us safe. They keep us fed. They keep us healthy. They have followed the rules. They have committed no crimes at all, and yet they are now being told they are going to be sent home.

And these are the same people who have made our seniors smile, that have been in homes all across our country, in homes taking care of our loved ones, in hospitals taking care of our loved ones. That is who they are. They have protected our babies. They soothe our sick. They are us. We have a moral duty to protect TPS holders and provide them with protections and a permanent pathway to citizenship. Let's help them make America home.

For generations, Massachusetts has been shaped by our immigrant communities. It was one of our own, Congressman Joe Moakley, who served as one of the architects of the TPS statute and who understood both the moral clarity and the practical necessity of providing refuge in times of crisis.

In defending his provision for TPS protection on the House of Representatives floor in 1990, Congressman Moakley emphasized our ``deep moral obligation'' to protect innocent victims fleeing violence abroad. His words remain as urgent and relevant today as they were when he spoke them.

Protecting the vulnerable is not a political choice; it is a moral duty. Congresswoman Pressley's success in passing the Haiti TPS bill in the House of Representatives is an inspiration. And now the Senate must pass the bill, which I introduced alongside Senator Blunt Rochester, to designate Haiti for TPS until after the next Presidential election.

I have called on every recent administration to designate, extend, and redesignate TPS for Haiti. I have also supported legislation to provide a legal pathway to residency for TPS holders. I will keep supporting this community.

The narrative of TPS holders in the United States is a story of resilience, of hope, and of an enduring spirit. Despite facing adversity, TPS holders have continued to contribute to build lives and set down roots.

Haitian TPS holders deserve our full protection. We cannot turn our backs on them now. That is the choice which we have to confront right now.

And, again, I thank Senator Blunt Rochester for her leadership on this issue as well. And if you would like to be recognized now, or I will make the motion right now and then we will continue the debate.

So as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 374, H.R. 1689; further, I ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, the objection we just heard is exactly why this law to protect Haiti TPS is necessary, and I am incredibly disappointed in my Republican colleagues for turning their backs on the Haitian TPS community in this dire time.

TPS represents America's longstanding commitment to serve as a beacon of hope and refuge for the vulnerable. To honor and to protect Haitian TPS holders is a moral duty. It is also an acknowledgment of the immense contributions TPS holders make to our families, to our neighborhoods.

And for years, TPS holders have reliably, patiently, and emphatically offered stability and dignity and security to so many.

The Senator from Missouri said the keyword is ``temporary''; no, the keyword is ``protection.''

The duration of how long it should be extended to give people protection is what we are debating here today. If the State Department says it is too dangerous for Americans to go to Haiti, then Haitians who are given TPS protections are also living with a danger that is too great for them and their families to be returned to a State Department- designated country too dangerous to visit.

They only ask for something that is just so clear, so decent, so obvious--just the stability of preserving their status, the dignity to live without fear, the security of not being returned to danger. It is the least we owe to them. But this fight to protect Haiti and its TPS protections is not over.

To the families lying awake tonight afraid of what comes next: We will continue to fight for you. To the children asking if their parents will be here in the morning: We will continue to fight for you. To every person who did everything right, who followed the rules, who believed in the promise of America: We will continue to fight for you.

We are not done. This administration and Senate Republicans cannot take away your humanity, your dignity, your future. We are going to continue to fight, and it is my honor to be able to partner with the great Senator from Delaware, my partner in this effort, the great Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1689 to designate Haiti for temporary protected status, or TPS, and I thank Representatives Pressley and Gillen for their incredible tenacity and leadership in building the bipartisan coalition needed to get this bill to the floor. This is a hopeful moment for so many across the country to take a positive step forward on immigration policy in America after so much darkness.

TPS was established with broad, bipartisan support in 1990 to provide people who are already in the United States a safe haven when their home countries are devastated by armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. TPS is built on the simple idea that America should not force people back to deadly and life-threatening conditions, a principle that has guided both Republican and Democratic administrations for decades.

Today, the Trump administration is dismantling this longstanding commitment to our core values, attempting to end TPS for countries where the conditions are still incredibly dangerous.

One country with which the President has seemed obsessed since his first term is Haiti. The President has called Haiti a S-hole country and cruelly attempted to end its TPS designation during his first term. Luckily, that was stopped by the lower courts, but the threat remains.

In less than 2 weeks, the ability of the Trump administration to end TPS for Haiti will be heard by the Supreme Court. Today, over 350,000 Haitians have TPS. It would be unconscionable to send them back to Haiti, an action that would lead to people's deaths. That goes against everything this country is supposed to stand for.

For years, Haiti has been dealing with significant political turmoil that has resulted in instability all over the country. Our own State Department has issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for Haiti. They say that individuals should not travel to Haiti due to ``kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited healthcare.'' The country has been in a state of emergency since March of 2024. Terminating TPS means the United States of America is forcing people to return to real and imminent harm, even death.

However, this isn't just about what is right and wrong for Haitians or for other TPS holders, Mr. Speaker. It is also about what benefits Americans. Despite all the lies and misinformation spread by this administration and its rightwing echo chamber, TPS broadly, and Haitian TPS holders specifically, are good for our communities and our economy.

TPS has allowed hundreds of thousands of people to work legally and to contribute to our economy. Haitian TPS recipients, in particular, regularly work in industries that are currently experiencing severe labor shortages, like construction and hospitality and healthcare.

In healthcare alone, Haitians are the sixth largest group of workers, making up one in five nursing assistants, personal care aides, and home health aides. These workers keep our economy running, helping businesses that struggle to fill jobs. They pay taxes, support local businesses, and contribute billions of dollars to our economy every single year.

Each year, TPS holders from Haiti who reside in the U.S. earn $3.9 billion in total household income. They pay a total of $983.9 million in taxes, including $600.8 million in Federal taxes and $383.1 million in State and local taxes, and they hold $2.9 billion in spending power.

Many Haitian TPS holders have lived in the United States for many years. They have followed our laws, paid their taxes, and demonstrated their commitment to this country. Instead of stripping them of legal status and sending them back to dangerous conditions, we should be providing them with a path to long-term stability.

Donald Trump ran on a false promise, that he would get rid of the ``worst of the worst,'' but instead his administration has been moving forward their real goal: Ending all legal immigration to this country. Just a few days ago, the conservative CATO Institute published a report showing that Trump has cut legal immigration by 2.5 times as much as undocumented immigration since coming into office this term.

Unlawful immigration had already fallen substantially, even before Trump took office, because the Biden administration expanded the legal pathways that people had to be here with legal presence, work and contribute. However, instead of maintaining that, Trump and Stephen Miller have done everything possible to destroy all legal immigration to this country, including eliminating TPS.

H.R. 1689 provides a glimmer of hope to immigrant communities across the country, starting with Haitians. It tells them that we value their work and contributions to our country. It tells them that we won't send them to their deaths. It tells them that America still welcomes the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Gillen), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley), who has been such a leader on bringing this bill to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, temporary protected status was created to ensure that our country is never forced to send someone back to harm's way. So long as dangerous conditions exist in someone's country of origin, TPS is meant to authorize them to remain here until that danger has passed.

Our government recognizes the real and present dangers right now in Haiti. Nonessential personnel have been evacuated from the country, and the State Department continues to tell Americans not to travel to Haiti. The government instructs people who must go to Haiti to establish ``a proof of life protocol'' with their family members, to

make funeral plans, and draft a will before they travel to the country.

Yet that same government expects us to believe that it is safer for Haitians to return to Haiti. They warn us about the imminent risk of death that comes with traveling to Haiti but have no qualms of sending 350,000 people who have been living in this country and contributing to their communities right here at home.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments later this month on whether the administration's termination of TPS was lawful. With the bill before us today, we can send a strong bipartisan message to the court that this body recognizes the reality that Haiti remains deeply unsafe, is in no way prepared to accept hundreds of thousands of people returning, and that the TPS designation for Haiti should remain in effect.

Now, Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot said on this floor today. I haven't challenged every single thing, but what I want the American people to know is there is a lot of misinformation being spread about Haitian TPS holders, about TPS holders in general, and about immigrants.

Someone earlier talked about how the American people don't want immigrants in this country. That is absolutely not true. There is a record-high support for legal pathways and a general belief that immigration is good for this country. A record high 79 percent of Americans now say that immigration is a good thing for the United States, and only 30 percent of Americans actually want to see decreased levels of demand. That is in part because this administration promised to deport only the worst of the worst and then went out and kidnapped and disappeared people, incarcerates children, and is committing cruelty, including murdering U.S. citizens in the streets.

The reality is that Haitians are contributing to communities across this country: 21 percent of Haitians in healthcare, 19 percent in retail, 15 percent in education and social services, 15,000 Haitians in agriculture, and 14.5 percent of Haitians are small business owners who are generating over $1.5 billion in revenue.

We love to take all of the services that immigrants provide to this country and then establish a level of cruelty toward those same immigrants. That is not right.

Mr. Speaker, as one of the very few naturalized citizens to serve in this country, it is difficult for me to constantly listen to the anti- immigrant rhetoric that comes from the other side, the cruelty that comes from this administration, when I myself know what this process is. I have been through it.

The reality is immigrants are contributing. Haitian immigrants who are here are working in their communities. It is why there is also a record level of support for continuing Haitian TPS. The public polling on TPS for Haitians: 90 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of Independents, and almost half of Republicans support that.

I am grateful to the Republicans who came forward to sign the discharge petition to bring this bill to the floor. I am grateful for any Republicans who vote today for this bill because what the American people want is to respect the contributions of immigrants across this country who are helping to build our communities. That is what Haitians are doing for us right now, and it is exactly why I hope all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will support this bipartisan, critically important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I want to thank my colleagues Senator Markey and Senator Blunt Rochester for bringing this motion to the floor.

I do want to thank Congresswoman Pressley--who I know had to leave the floor--for her leadership in the House.

And like my colleagues, I am extremely disappointed that Republican Senators today blocked our ability to move forward and have a vote on this

matter and pass this very important matter, which is to extend temporary protected status for Haiti.

As my colleagues have said, temporary protected status--TPS--was established decades ago with bipartisan support because Congress understood then a very basic truth: When people cannot safely return to their countries of origin, we do not put their lives at risk by forcing them to go back. That is the essence of the protection in TPS, and that principle is worth defending today.

For years, hundreds of thousands of Haitians have lived and worked legally in the United States of America under TPS. They built their lives here. They have paid taxes here, including Social Security taxes. They started small businesses here. They are our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues. They are our community members.

They are deeply rooted in communities all over the country, including in my State of Maryland. Some have lived here for decades--again, legally--with this status. To rip all of that away, while the danger in Haiti persists, is wrong and it is cruel. And it does not align with the values that the United States claims to stand for, and yet that is exactly what the Trump administration is doing. And, sadly, it is what our Republican Senate colleagues just did in their motion.

And I do want to underscore what Senator Blunt Rochester and Senator Markey have said. They may be able to block it today in the U.S. Senate, but we will keep working on this matter because it is a matter of important American principles.

You know, last year, the administration moved to terminate Haiti's TPS designation, and that action was challenged in court. And the Federal courts temporarily blocked that termination.

Then it went to the Supreme Court, and on a devastating 6-to-3 decision, the Supreme Court reversed the lower courts and sided with the Trump administration. It was another--in my view--very bad decision from this Supreme Court that will have very harmful consequences for the Haitian community but, really, for all of our communities because now TPS holders face imminent loss of their legal status and of their work authorizations, the latter of which is slated to happen as soon as the end of this week.

So let's be clear about what that means. Let's just be clear about the harm that we are forcing these individuals to face. It means hundreds of thousands of our community members who followed the rules, worked legally, paid taxes, and built lives in this country will lose their ability to work legally and be forced to return to a country where it is not safe to return.

That is the reality right now. Anyone following the situation in Haiti knows it remains very dangerous. Indeed, as my colleagues have said, the State Department continues to warn Americans not to travel to Haiti because of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and other factors.

The country remains under a state of emergency, and the U.S. Government has extremely limited ability to provide any emergency assistance, even to our own citizens who are there now.

And the humanitarian situation there continues to deteriorate. When you are evaluating whether it is safe to force anybody back to their country of origin, we are supposed to look at whether the situation is getting better or worse. It is getting worse over a long period of time in Haiti. While there are some small signs of hope right now, the reality is, it is a very, very dangerous place

In fact, 1.5 million people have been displaced from their homes. More than half the population needs humanitarian assistance. More than 5.8 million people are expected to face hunger this year. Meanwhile, armed gangs continue to control large parts of Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country.

A lot of these gangs are responsible for killings, kidnappings, sexual violence, and forced displacements of entire communities. And yet, by the decision the Republican Senator took to the floor, blocking this action, they are forcing people who have been members of our community for a long time--again, working here legally--forcing them back into imminent danger and harm.

You know, we shouldn't be doing this, colleagues. We should not be forcing anybody back into a situation of imminent harm, especially people who have been here and working legally and playing by all of the rules. And now we are changing the rules on them midstream because what had been a bipartisan law of the temporary protected status program is now having the ``protected status'' part of it ripped out by our colleagues. So this is really part of the Trump administration's mass deportation strategy.

You know, the President told Americans that they were going to go after the ``worst of the worst.'' You know, we had a vote on this floor weeks back. I think it was a unanimous vote that, you know, folks who have committed crimes--people who are dangerous to our communities-- yes, the worst of the worst should be essentially held accountable and deported.

But folks under TPS? These are people who are working legally in our country. These are people paying taxes. These are not the worst of the worst. In fact, they have to check in every single year and make sure that they continue to meet the requirements of the law. And yet these are the people--these are the people--that the President and now our Republican colleagues seek to uproot and send into certain danger.

Sadly, the Supreme Court--the Trump-stacked Supreme Court--went along with these decisions, but we have a chance in this body to fix that. And that was what we tried to do today with Senator Markey's motion.

Again, it was blocked by our Republican colleagues, but this will not be the end of this debate. It will not be the end of this discussion because the essence of TPS was, at least at one time in our country, a bipartisan effort. On a bipartisan basis, we agreed that it was wrong to send people back to their home country if they faced certain danger. And that is why we allowed these individuals to stay here. And many of them have made really successful lives here in our communities, working--again legally--paying taxes.

And so it is a very sad day when what once was a bipartisan consensus to stand by important principles that had made this country stronger are shredded by this White House and where we now have a rubberstamped Congress to go along with the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda.

So I regret the action that was taken today. I, again, thank my colleague Senator Markey for his efforts, and we will keep at it together.

I yield the floor.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(c) of rule XV, I rise to provide notice of my intent to offer a motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from further consideration of House Resolution 965.

I did, Mr. Speaker.

I do.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to make a motion to discharge H.R. 1689 to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for temporary protected status.

This is a commonsense policy that will save lives and benefit the American public. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan effort and vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I support this motion, and I urge my colleagues, including the 218 Members from both sides of the aisle who signed this discharge petition, to vote ``yes.''

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in unequivocal support of this vote. I am immensely grateful to the Members who supported my discharge petition on both sides of the aisle and the broad, intergenerational and multiracial coalition of justice seekers throughout the country who power this movement, and my indefatigable staff, my A team, who power this work.

I am grateful for labor unions like SEIU, business industry like ABIC, faith leaders like the Conference of Catholic Bishops, civil rights groups like Black Lives Matter Grassroots, IFC, and so many more, who have joined the movement to extend TPS for Haiti.

Now, this issue, Mr. Speaker, is not the most glamorous, and I don't fault anyone at home who perhaps has never heard of this, but for those who know those three letters, TPS, they know it is life-changing.

Temporary protected status is a legal status for 1.3 million immigrants in the United States. The application process is arduous, requiring piles of paperwork, undergoing a background check, spending hundreds of dollars, and coming from one of the few countries on the list, like Haiti or Venezuela.

Technically, the deadline for maintaining Haiti TPS has already passed. That is why this vote is so urgent. That is why I filed the discharge petition, and that is why Democrats, Republicans, and an Independent have come together to take action.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' to extend temporary protected status for Haitians who are living in the United States and building a future that will help all of us.

Haitians like Rebecca in my district, the Massachusetts Seventh, who shared her personal story with me. Rebecca moved to the United States in 2010, not by choice, but out of necessity following the catastrophic earthquake that killed more people than any other earthquake in the history of the Western Hemisphere.

She witnessed the rise in gangs and saw her beautiful country overtaken by

political violence and instability. After surviving multiple kidnapping attempts, out of desperation Rebecca made the same decision that any of us would make in her position. She immigrated to the United States. She quickly enrolled in school to learn English. She obtained a job to support herself and her family.

Now, in 2026, thanks to her legal status under TPS, Rebecca is a certified nursing assistant. She told me that she cares for her patients with great joy, pride, and dedication.

Mr. Speaker, let the record reflect that 20 percent of Haitians in the United States, that is one in five, work in healthcare, bridging the critical workforce gaps that define our caregiving crisis.

Rebecca is not our enemy, and she should not have to live with shame nor fear of being deported solely because of where she was born. She told me that she cannot return to Haiti, and she has no other place to go.

Mr. Speaker, Rebecca's letter ended with two words that no person wishes they would ever need to use: Please help.

Today, Congress has the ability to do just that for Rebecca in Massachusetts, for the teacher in Ohio, for the entrepreneur in Florida, and the more than 350,000 Haitian TPS holders whose lives hang in the balance.

Congress can help. Congress can do the right thing. There is nothing stopping us. Congress, right now and right here, can vote to save lives.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Gillen).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. A vote against this resolution is a vote against our country's best interests, plain and simple, but don't just take my word for it, Mr. Speaker. Republicans in the executive branch agree.

If you go to the State Department's website, you will see the Trump administration has designated Haiti as a ``Level 4: Do not travel (Code Red)'' because of the multilayered humanitarian crises of natural disasters, gang violence, and political instability impacting the island.

That is why TPS is warranted in this moment, and Secretary Rubio knows that. In fact, when he was in the Senate, it was Rubio who authored the very legislation we are voting on today.

It is not just him who agrees. The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, has repeatedly discussed the dire conditions of Haiti and its strategic importance to our national security.

Ambassador Waltz, who was recently a Republican in this very body, believes we should be working to stabilize Haiti. He knows that the international effort to restore order in Port-au-Prince would be undermined if we deported hundreds of thousands of Haitians to the island.

This isn't just about foreign policy. Secretary Kennedy of the Department of Health and Human Services said something families across the country already know too well: America is facing a caregiver crisis. If we were to deport Haitians, we would lose even more nurses, aides, and caregivers that we desperately need. Those jobs can't be replaced by AI. The solution is clear.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' to extend TPS because it is the economic thing to do. It is the strategic thing to do. It is the humane thing to do. But most of all, it is the right thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

The previous question is ordered.