Immigration Protection-Haiti story

Debris in the streets of the Port-au Prince neighborhood of Bel-Air in the aftermath of theĀ 2010 Haiti Earthquake
Debris in the streets of the Port-au Prince neighborhood of Bel-Air in the aftermath of theĀ 2010 Haiti Earthquake
Author

24 May, 2017

"And this is him making his promise".

Federal officials announced plans Monday to extend Temporary Protected Status for the more than 58,000 Haitian nationals that have come to the U.S.in the aftermath of a devastating quake that hit the island nation in 2010.

Tens of thousands of Haitians enrolled under the Temporary Protected Status program can stay in the United States until at least January. Haitians granted the protection can live and work in the USA without fear of deportation.

Haitian participation in the program has been regularly renewed for 18-month intervals and the latest extension expires in July.

On May 22, DHS Secretary John Kelly announced he would extend the designation for six more months, from July 23, 2017, though January 22, 2018.

Three DHS officials, who agreed to speak to reporters only on the condition of anonymity, said Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly believed Haitians living in the United States deserved the extension until year-end, but conditions there were improving.

Before the expiration of the six-month extension, Secretary Kelly will re-evaluate the designation for Haiti and decide whether extension, re-designation, or termination is warranted.

Haiti's current TPS was designated through July 22, 2017. They said Haitian government officials expressed interest in seeing TPS recipients returning home, where the job and language skills they've acquired could help facilitate development.

Haitian immigrants were first given TPS in 2010 by the Obama administration after one of the region's most destructive earthquakes affected an estimated 3 million people and killed more than 200,000.

Some other US lawmakers and immigration advocates had urged DHS to extend Haiti's TPS status for 18 months.

Kamal Essaheb, policy and advocacy director at NILC, said in a statement that while she was "pleased" about an extension, the time allotted by the extension is not enough.

Following the decision, here's an overview of what the designation means for Haiti and whether it is in line with what Trump told Haitian immigrants during the presidential campaign.

DHS may designate a country for TPS when conditions in the foreign country (such as civil war, environmental disasters and epidemics) prevent its nationals from returning safely or when the country can not handle the return of its nationals.

Jean-Baptiste, who last visited his home country in February, and other Haitians point to continued food shortages and lack of housing as signs that their country will not be ready for an influx of people if the status ends in six months.

Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported it had obtained internal emails from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services showing the agency sought information on criminal activity by Haitians temporarily in the United States.

"Haiti has made progress across several fronts since the devastating natural disaster in 2010, and I'm proud of the role the United States has played during this time in helping our Haitian friends", Kelly said.

"This six-month extension should allow Haitian TPS recipients living in the United States time to attain travel documents and make other necessary arrangements for their ultimate departure from the United States, and should also provide the Haitian government with the time it needs to prepare for the future repatriation of all current TPS recipients", Kelly said in a statement.

Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Democrat whose district includes Little Haiti in Miami, said Monday the decision was a "blessing for the Haitian community". "If it's only six months, it is clear that their decision is to terminate it, which would be a disaster", she said.

"Once you strip the TPS blanket away, people that are under the blanket, protected by it, can be very different", said immigration attorney Tom Griffin, who has represented many clients from Haiti. Manigault said that Trump, "made a commitment to Haiti and Haitians in the diaspora as well that he was really going to work with them, and for them, and he made a commitment".

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