https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/20/us/haitians-temporary-status.html
Miriam Jordan reports for the NYT:
“The Trump administration is ending a humanitarian program that has allowed some 59,000 Haitians to live and work in the United States since an earthquake ravaged their country in 2010, officials said on Monday.
Haitians with what is known as temporary protected status will be expected to leave the United States by July 2019 or face deportation.
The decision, while not a complete surprise, set off immediate dismay among Haitian communities in South Florida, New York and beyond. Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, is still struggling to rebuild from the earthquake and relies heavily on money its expatriates send to relatives back home.
The Haitian government had asked the Trump administration to extend the protected status.”
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On the bright side, Congress has 18 months to come up with a permanent solution.
PWS
11-20-17
Temporary Protected Status is defined by statute. It isn’t a simple matter of creating a humanitarian program. Miraim’s comment would have been useful if he based it on the statutory provisions.
Sec. 244 of the INA, 8 USC 1254
https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-7238.html#0-0-0-272
Haiti continues to fit well within within subparagraph (B). It is basically an exercise in humanitarian discretion by the Executive. That’s why it is not judicially reviewable.
PWS
11-20-17
The provisions require more than an exercise in humanitarian discretion. It is permitted only when temporary conditions permit the country in question from adequately handling the return of their nationals.
TPS was granted on the basis of an earthquake in 2010, which was seven years ago, and according to DHS, the number of displaced persons in Haiti has decreased by 97 percent. What basis is there for finding that Haiti still can’t handle the return of the Haitis currently here on TPS….particularly in view of the fact that they have 18 months to get ready? See Acting Sec. Duke’s statement at
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/11/20/acting-secretary-elaine-duke-announcement-temporary-protected-status-haiti
The statutory provisions also make it virtually impossible for Congress to establish a permanent solution. Or do you think a supermajority vote in favor of giving LPR status to 60,000 Haitians is feasible?
I think caution should be observed in this situation. TPS is supposed to be temporary. If the democrats resist too hard when DHS pulls the plug on TPS beneficiaries who have been here for more than seven years, the republicans might decide that the TPS provisions should be revised to prevent benefits from lasting for a period of years.
From today’s Washington Post:
“More than half the Haitians affected by Monday’s announcement live in Florida, where lawmakers had asked that they be allowed to remain. The lawmakers cited ongoing economic and political difficulties in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, as well as a still-raging cholera epidemic.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) last week publicly called for TPS renewal for the Haitians. Those “sent home will face dire conditions, including lack of housing, inadequate health services and low prospects for employment. . . . Failure to renew the TPS designation will weaken Haiti’s economy and impede its ability to recover completely and improve its security,” Rubio wrote in the Miami Herald.
Critics of the decision said it does not match the reality on the ground in Haiti.
“It appears ideology won over a practical application of the law,” said Kevin Appleby, senior director of the New York-based Center for Migration Studies.
Rocio Saenz, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, which claims thousands of members living here under TPS, called the decision “heartbreaking, and harmful in every way.”
“Besides the human toll on Haitian TPS recipients and their families, it will be costly for their employers, ruinous to the up and coming neighborhoods where they often live, and destabilizing to their countries of origin,” Saenz said.
TPS holders, who include a relatively small number of Africans in addition to Central Americans and Haitians, “have more than 270,000 U.S.-born children,” she said in a statement, “and thousands of grandchildren. After all of this time, no conceivable purpose is served by upending all of that and ordering them to return to some of the most dangerous and precarious countries on earth.”
But the senior official, one of several who spoke to reporters under the condition of anonymity set by the administration, said that “the law is relatively explicit, that if the conditions on the ground do not support a TPS designation, then the secretary must terminate.”
Duke had “assessed overall that extraordinary temporary conditions” that justified the designation in the first place “had sufficiently improved such that they no longer prevent nationals of Haiti from returning,” the official said.
[A Haitian woman asks, ‘How would I survive back there?’]”
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What Rubio and those asking for extension say makes sense and matches the reality of Haiti; what Duke says is nonsensical. In the end, it’s a discretionary political decision.
Sure, the GOP could revise or eliminate TPS. They have been threatening to do so for years. But, so far, they have barely been able to figure out how to keep the lights on in the Capitol, notwithstanding controlling all of the political branches of Gov. And, as this incident shows, not all Republicans are anti-TPS, anti-immigrant. So, that might not happen. TPS has been a smart, effective program that has done great things for America as well as the folks who fit within it. Eliminating or restricting it would be stupid.
No, the GOP probably won’t agree to permanent status for the Haitians. But, with a 600,000 plus backlog in Immigration Court and lots of folks in line before them, the Haitians aren’t going anywhere either, except, perhaps, to Canada. They will wander around Florida in limbo until some future Congress finally takes care of them as has happened in most similar situations (see NACARA, which also was one of the smarter immigration moves Congress ever made).
Terminating TPS is dumb — a waste of resources, unnecessary cruelty, and something that hurts the US, Florida, and the Haitian community. In other words, a lose-lose-lose. There are no real winners here. But, I’d never accuse this Administration or GOP restrictionists of having a smart immigration policy.
PWS
11-21-17
I never suggested that conditions are good in Haiti, or that the TPS Haitians should want to return. My point is that the discussion, particularly on this website, should be based on statutory TPS factors. Much of what Paul is saying and observations he has referred to are not statutory TPS factors.
Incidentally, I couldn’t find reference to “a still-raging cholera epidemic” in the State Department’s Haiti Travel Warning, which was updated recently. But it does indicate why the TPS Haitians don’t want to go back.
Haiti Travel Warning
LAST UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to carefully consider the risks of traveling to Haiti due to its current security environment and lack of adequate medical facilities and response. U.S. citizens are informed that the U.S. Embassy has resumed normal operations following Hurricane Irma. The authorized departure of non-emergency employees was lifted September 12, 2017. This is an update to Travel Warning issued on September 05, 2017.
Rates of kidnapping, murder, and rape rose in 2016. While there is no indication that U. S. citizens are specifically targeted, kidnapping for ransom can affect anyone in Haiti, particularly long-term residents. Armed robberies and violent assaults reported by U.S. citizens have risen in recent years. Do not share specific travel plans with strangers. Be aware that newly arrived travelers are targeted. Arrange to have your host or organization meet you at the airport upon arrival or pre-arranged airport to hotel transfers. Be cautious when visiting banks and ATMs, which are often targeted by criminals. Fewer incidents of crime are reported outside of Port-au-Prince, but Haitian authorities’ ability to respond to emergencies is limited and in some areas nonexistent. U.S. Embassy employees are discouraged from walking in city neighborhoods, including in Petionville. Visit only establishments with secured parking lots. U.S. Embassy personnel are under a curfew from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Embassy personnel must receive permission from the Embassy security officer to travel to some areas of Port-au-Prince and some regions of the country, thus limiting the Embassy’s ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens.
Protests, including tire burning and road blockages, are frequent and often spontaneous. Avoid all demonstrations. The Haitian National Police’s ability to assist U.S. citizens during disturbances is limited. Have your own plans for quickly exiting the country if necessary.
The U.S. Embassy remains concerned about the security situation in the southern peninsula departments of Grand Anse and Sud following the devastation of Hurricane Matthew. Embassy employees are not permitted to travel to those departments without special approval for and official trips only.
Medical care infrastructure, ambulances, and other emergency services are limited throughout Haiti. Check that your organization has reliable infrastructure, evacuation, and medical support in place. Comprehensive medical evacuation insurance is strongly advised for all travelers.
The authorized departure of non-emergency employees has been lifted. This is an update to Travel Warning issued on September 05, 2017.
The country is still recovering from several natural disasters and an epidemic. That’s more than enough to fit the TPS statute which as always been interpreted broadly. Rubio or any other person familiar with the situation could have drafted an “airtight” statement justifying continuation. And, it’s not like the Trump Administration is concerned about complying with laws except on those odd occasions where it suits their political aims. It’s a fundamentally lawless group.
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Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
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@RosLehtinen
I travelled to #Haiti after the earthquake in 2010 and after hurricane Matthew in 2016. So I can personally attest that #Haiti is not prepared to take back nearly 60,000 #TPS recipients under these difficult and harsh conditions.
7:25 PM – Nov 20, 2017
116 116 Replies 1,367 1,367 Retweets 2,266 2,266 likes
I’d be much more inclined to believe this Congresswoman, who happens to be a Republican, than the Trump Administration.
The idea that termination of status is “legally required” is pure Trump Administration fiction. It’s a policy decision. They don’t like immigrants, and they don’t like Haitians. They also want to please restrictionists who don’t like TPS (along with not liking Haitians or immigrants). It’s an Executive call, so they can basically get away with doing whatever they want. But, it’s still the wrong call. And it’s stupid, both from a US and a Haitian Government standpoint.
PWS
11-21-17
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