Boston (May 23, 2021) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.)
released the following statement on Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas designating
Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.
“I applaud the Biden administration’s decision to
designate Temporary Protected Status for Haiti. As Haiti continues to struggle
to rebuild and recover from devastating natural and man-made disasters, and as
the current political situation leads to more instability, the United States
has an obligation to provide protections to Haitians who have become active
members of our communities, especially our frontline and essential workers.
This decision reflects the compassion that should be the hallmark of our policy toward Haitians in the United States
who are unable to safely return to their homeland at this time.
“Temporary Protected Status recipients are Americans in
every way but their immigration status. We must not abandon them, and I am
grateful that the Biden administration has taken this important step to provide
this temporary relief. I will continue to fight for a pathway to citizenship
for those who come to our country looking for a better life.”
At the start of the pandemic
in March 2020, Senator Markey first called on DHS to
halt deportations, and in May 2020, he specifically called for a stop to
deportations to Haiti. In October 2017,
as Haiti still continued to struggle in the wake
of devastating natural disasters and a cholera epidemic from the year
prior, Senator Markey made a similar
call for the extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals
residing in the United States, after having traveled there in August 2016 to
help deliver aid and assess the areas desperate for humanitarian
assistance.
