Senate Republicans Reject Bid to Extend Haiti TPS Despite Calls From Miami-Dade Leaders

Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked Democrats’ attempt to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, rejecting legislation that would have allowed hundreds of thousands of Haitians to remain in the United States without fear of deportation until at least the next U.S. presidential election.

In April, House Democrats, with the support of a handful of Republicans, passed legislation extending temporary protections for Haitian immigrants by three years. The bill was sponsored by Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Laura Gillen of New York, both Democrats, and advanced to a vote after supporters successfully used a bipartisan discharge petition to get the bill out of committee.

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey and Delaware Democratic Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester later introduced companion legislation in the Senate. On Wednesday, they asked the Senate for unanimous consent to pass the House TPS legislation. But their effort to pass the measure Wednesday before Haitians’ TPS expires on Friday was blocked by Missouri Republican Eric Schmitt. The senator accused Democrats of trying to make TPS permanent.

“America is not a global refugee camp. America is not a get-rich scheme for the Third World. America is our home, and when house guests become squatters, you don’t delay enforcement. You call the sheriff and you send them home. That’s exactly what we must do here today,” Schmitt said.

{snip}

Hours before the Senate debate, local elected officials in South Florida joined union, faith and business leaders and immigration advocates in urging senators to approve the bill. They specifically called on Florida Sens. Rick Scott and Ashley Moody, both Republicans, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who previously represented Florida in the Senate.

{snip}

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said her office had also tried to reach the lawmakers without success. Ending TPS, she said, would place 350,000 Haitians at risk of detention and deportation to a country in turmoil.

South Florida is home to one of the largest Haitian communities in the U.S. It’s estimated that 90,500 Haitians here have TPS, which allows people from countries facing armed conflict or natural disasters to live and work temporarily in the U.S. TPS holders contribute about $5.8 billion annually into the U.S. economy and pay roughly $1.5 billion in taxes, Levine Cava and other leaders said.

{snip}

Jones said if House Democrats were able to get Republicans to support a bipartisan legislation to ensure that the people who’ve been there for the U.S. didn’t have to leave, then he could not see why the same couldn’t happen in the Senate.

But Senate Republicans objected, with Schmitt arguing that voters had endorsed President Donald Trump’s mass deportation platform, including his promise to end TPS for Haitians. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York accused the president of trying to force Haitians back into “dangerous conditions” they fled in Haiti.

{snip}

Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen said despite Wednesday’s block by Republicans they will not give up. But he acknowledged the impact of the move.

“Now TPS holders face imminent loss of their legal status and of their work authorizations. 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,” he said.

{snip}