Senate Democrats introduce bill to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status

Senate Democrats introduced legislation Wednesday that would require the Department of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), an effort to lock in deportation protections for Haitian nationals regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court rules in a pending case over the Trump administration’s attempts to end the program.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., would direct the Homeland Security secretary to designate Haiti for TPS through April 20, 2029 — three months after the end of President Donald Trump’s term. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and 16 other Senate Democrats are co-sponsors.

The measure is the Senate companion to legislation that Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., pushed through the House in April using a discharge petition. That bill, sponsored by Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., passed 224-204, with 10 Republicans joining Democrats, and would extend Haiti TPS for three years.

The bill arrives as Haiti’s TPS status remains in legal limbo. A federal judge paused the administration’s latest termination of the designation in February, and the administration appealed. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case, Trump v. Miot, on April 29, and a ruling is pending.

“The Trump administration’s cruel, callous, and calculated attempts to terminate TPS for Haitian nationals puts thousands of our neighbors in immediate danger,” Markey said in a press release. “Haiti is facing life-threatening conditions that have displaced nearly 1.5 million people. This legislation to safeguard Haiti TPS reflects both a moral duty and a recognition of the immense contributions of Haitian TPS holders to our communities.”

“The extension of Temporary Protected Status for the Haitian community was rooted in an undeniable humanitarian crisis that required acknowledgment and increased protection,” Blunt Rochester said in the release. “The Trump administration’s decision to terminate this TPS designation not only threatens the safety and stability of our Haitian neighbors, but the economic strength of communities across the country.”

Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said in the release that the bill’s introduction reflects the urgency of conditions in Haiti.

“As Haiti continues to endure extraordinary insecurity, political instability, displacement, and a worsening humanitarian crisis, extending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians is both necessary and urgent,” she said.

Jozef told The Haitian Times in a previous interview that advocates remain hopeful despite the uncertainty surrounding the legislative and legal pushes. 

“We never know how things are going to go, but we’re hopeful,” she said. “At the end of the day, these are not statistics. These are real people with real lives.”

Haiti has held a TPS designation continuously since 2010, when it was granted following the earthquake that killed an estimated 220,000 people. It has been redesignated and extended multiple times since, most recently in 2024. Roughly 350,000 Haitian nationals currently hold the status, according to court filings.

The bill has not yet been assigned a number and was referred to a committee following its introduction. No timeline for a Senate floor vote has been set.

The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision on whether to terminate TPS for Haitians and Syrians by the end of June or early July.

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