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This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for temporary protected status (TPS) for 18 months beginning August 3, 2025. (Eligible nationals of a TPS-designated country may obtain employment authorization, may not be detained on the basis of their immigration status, and are not subject to removal while they retain TPS.)
I rise today to block the bill, and also do something else, to make clear that those supporting this bill have a message for the American people: Your vote doesn't matter. Your community doesn't matter. Your livelihood doesn't matter.
I would note the starting place here. In 2010, Haitians were granted temporary status--temporary--after a severe earthquake struck their country. Since then, thousands of foreign nationals from Haiti have remained in the United States due to the renewal of this flawed program.
I vehemently oppose this backdoor amnesty bill that would allow hundreds of thousands of Haitians who entered our country illegally to be given de facto amnesty.
In fact, during the 4 years of the Biden-Harris administration, this tool was used to extend de facto amnesty to more than 1 million aliens who entered this country without a visa.
Understand the Democrats' plan. It is as straightforward as you can imagine. First, let in 10 million illegal immigrants during the Biden administration. Then, create sanctuary jurisdictions where it becomes difficult to do any removal of those illegal immigrants who commit other crimes.
This is an effort to undermine our country with people who have killed three people in my State. I did not come here to protect Haitians. I came here to protect for the good of our country. The only discharge petition I will support is the one that discharges all of these people back to Haiti.
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.
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.
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.
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.''
I support this bill because, at the end of the day, we have to recognize that the Haitian people who actually have come to the United States, they did go through a vigorous vetting process in order for them to get the TPS status that they have.
You know, the State of Massachusetts is such a powerful State for freedom, justice, and liberty. You embody the ideals that we were sent here to fight for.
I rise in support of this measure to restore protections for our Haitian-American neighbors, and I am grateful for Congresswoman Pressley and Congresswoman Gillen's leadership on this issue.
Ending TPS doesn't fix our broken system; it only makes things worse. It is cruel. It is counterproductive. Sending 300,000 people to Haiti with little or no support will further destabilize an already severe humanitarian and security crisis on our country's doorstep.
I rise today in strong support of Representative Gillen's bill to extend temporary protective status for Haitians until 2029. In fact, to me, it is outrageous that it actually took Representative Pressley's bipartisan discharge petition to force this consequential vote.
As I stand here, I do so in diametric opposition to this administration, which knows full well of our Haitian neighbors' plight yet does not seek to alleviate their pain. Instead, they hope only to become an active participant in it.
I missed votes today, due to inclement weather. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 111, No on Roll Call No. 112, and YEA on Roll Call No. 113.
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