©️photo : Miami Herald
Washington, March 31, 2026.- An initiative to protect Haitian beneficiaries of the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) has passed, Monday, March 30, 2026, a decisive step in the United States House of Representatives. A discharge petition, led by Democratic Ayanna Pressley, reached the 218 necessary signatures including the support of four Republican elected officials, thus forcing a vote on Bill HR 1689.
According to Miami Herald, this text aims to compel the Department of Homeland Security to maintain the GST for Haiti, a program that currently allows approximately 350,000 Haitians to live and work legally in the United States due to the serious security and political crisis in their country.
Among the Republicans who supported this approach were María Elvira Salazar, Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Lawler and Don Bacon. The bill, introduced by Democrat Laura Gillen and co-sponsored by Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Mike Lawler, is now receiving unprecedented bipartisan support.
Migrant rights defenders welcome historic progress and urge the Senate to act quickly if the text is adopted by the House. However, his future remains uncertain in this second chamber.
In parallel, the US justice temporarily blocked the Trump administration's decision to end the GST for Haiti. The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider this case on April 29.
For defence organisations, in particular, the Haitian Bridge Alliance, Faith in Action, the stake is crucial: without this protection, hundreds of thousands of Haitians risk expulsion to a country experiencing a humanitarian crisis, widespread insecurity and a lack of stable governance.
W.E.
